Unexpected
by riemayu
Summary: Post TDK - As a woman accidentally discovers the truth about Batman, Bruce learns that life doesn't always go according to how you expect it would. He soon learns that this woman can not only be an asset to him but for Batman as well. Batman/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N - And I'm back at it again. This was an idea that has been kicking around in my mind for a few months and just recently I've had a chance to write it up into something decent.

Please review kindly. :)

* * *

**March 1**

A single flame from a lighter was enough to light up the alleyway. It flashed for a moment, reflecting off a face as it burned the end of a cigarette until it turned red.

"Where the hell is he?" a man asked, taking a nervous drag from the cigarette. His hands shook slightly, partly from the nerves and the chilly early March night.

"I don't know. Seriously, if I knew I'd tell you."

"I don't like doing this sort of thing in the open," the man said again, looking up at the tall apartment buildings on either side of them. No one in the building would bat an eye at their presence. It was the sort of thing that would happen in the Narrows. It was nothing new to them. But knowing that Batman could be anywhere at anytime made the man nervous.

"He'd better show soon or this deal is off."

"It'll be worth your time, believe me."

Both men turned their attention towards the quiet street as they heard footsteps approaching in the freshly fallen snow. They both waited in anticipation until the visitor spoke. They saw him approach, a rather short young man with two larger men flanking him on either side.

"Gentlemen, sorry I'm late."

They weren't interested in being polite. "You got your money. Now, where is it, Crane?"

Dr. Crane smiled, opening a bag and tossing them a small package. The man looked down at it in the dim lighting, quickly examining what he was holding.

"That's it?"

"That's it. I have more but I have other dealers that I need to meet. High demand, you know," Crane said, zipping up the bag.

The two men looked at each other, exchanging words silently. "Hold up."

Crane paused, a smug smile growing on his face.

"How much for the rest?"

"Same as before," Crane said. "Eight grand."

"Shit," one of the men exclaimed under his breath.

Crane shrugged. "Well, like I said, I do have other interested parties who are willing to pay and will certainly recoup their cost and some in a matter of days. This stuff is growing in popularity, especially among the younger crowd. They won't have trouble dealing it."

The two men glanced at each other, one nodding to the other. The one with the cigarette blew out his final drag before tossing it onto the ground. He reached around to his back, causing the two men on either side of Crane to take a step closer, their own hands going behind their backs, ready for a fight. Instead, he pulled out a large amount of folded bills.

"Eight grand, you said?"

Crane smirked and nodded as the man shoved a fist full of money into Crane's hand. Somewhat irritated with the wad of money in his hand, Crane took each bill and counted each and every one before putting it into his coat pocket. He handed another large package to the two men.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you two," he said, turning on his heel, leaving the alleyway and the two men alone.

* * *

Gordon looked down at the lifeless body at his feet, laying in a pool of blood and slush.

_Not one of these kind of nights again_, he thought.

The body lay on the sidewalk, just outside the light of a streetlight. Several police cruisers blocked the street as their lights shone on the buildings around them. Gordon looked up at the apartment buildings and momentarily saw a curtain move or a light go out. He wasn't surprised. This area of Gotham was used to being up all night.

"Sorry to call you out commissioner," an officer said, walking up to him with a pad of paper in his hand. "But I thought you'd want to come out being this the fourth homicide of this type this week."

"Not a problem, detective," he said, crouching down beside the body as he pulled on a pair of latex gloves.

"He looks to be around 16 years old," the officer commented. "There's no word on the person who pulled the trigger. Forensics have already taken a look at him."

Gordon glanced up at the buildings. "Any witnesses?"

"Unfortunately, no."

_None that will talk_, Gordon thought to himself as he sighed, looking back down at the boy laying on the cold concrete.

He reached and picked up the victims hands, looking closely at the fingers. Once again, there was that grey substance on the hands. The one thing that was connecting all the homicides.

"I want a toxicology report done as soon as possible," he said to the detective standing above him. "Send the report to my office as soon as it comes in."

Gordon stood up and pulled off the gloves before walking back to his car. As though on cue, he looked up at the apartment building across the road and saw a familiar figure standing near the ledge. As quickly as he saw him, he was then gone. Batman and Commissioner Gordon rarely met anymore, but Gordon knew when he was around.

He looked back down at the kid on the ground before turning to the detective. "Okay, get the coroner in here."

* * *

Batman stood high up on top of another apartment building near the Narrows. 5 years. It had been just over 5 years since she was killed, since he was blamed for the death of a man, since he gave up everything; hope. Not a day had gone by that Rachel's face and words filled his mind with the promise of them being together when he was done being Batman. But now, he'd never be done.

"Get the hell away from me!"

Batman heard the voice and waited, trying to figure out which direction to go.

"Somebody help me!"

There it was. Without another moments hesitation, Batman swung off the roof and landed onto the next building before racing across it to the next until he looked down at the alleyway below where a young woman was bent over, holding her head.

"Come on, man," one of the assailants said, nervously. "Let's hurry this up. I got her purse."

"That's not all I want," the other one said, reaching down and taking the woman by the back of the neck.

The woman cried out as she felt herself being forced to stand and then pushed towards the brick wall. All of a sudden, he let go. She looked over her shoulder slowly and saw that both men were suddenly gone. Her purse laid on the ground where the one man had originally stood. Carefully, she picked it back up and fished through it nervously until she found the one item she wished she had on herself ten minutes prior. Without warning, a hand touched her shoulder and she quickly turned, ready for another attack. She pulled the switchblade from her purse and swung it out in front of her. When she saw what or rather who she cut, she dropped the knife out of her hand in shock.

"Oh. my. God. I am so sorry," she said. "I...I thought you were one of those guys coming back."

Batman held a hand to his cheek feeling the sting of a fresh wound on his face. He quickly turned and disappeared into the darkness.

The woman sighed.

"Good going Em. You really know how to make a friend of the Batman," she said sarcastically as she walked out of the alleyway and continued on her way.

* * *

Emily Tucker stomped her feet, allowing the remaining slush and snow to drop on the mat. She glanced around the waiting area to see it was nearly full of women and men. One was signing in at the receptionists window. Only a handful looked up when she walked in the door, while the others kept to themselves. She ignored the smell in the room and walked towards the door to the examination rooms. She passed the receptionist who looked twice at her.

"Emily! Where have you been? We've been worried and Bill has been asking about you," she said, taking the clipboard with the latest information on the newest patient of the evening. She closed the window between the waiting room and her desk before standing up, eyeing Emily carefully.

"I'm fine, Louise," she replied, taking her coat off and hanging it on the coat rack. "I just ran into a little trouble on my way in."

"Emily! You're bleeding!"

"I am?"

Louise grabbed a handful of kleenex's off her desk and pressed them to the cut on Emily's temple. She put her hand on her back and ushered her into the break room, bumping into another gentleman and a woman on their way in, both surprised to see Emily and the fact that she looked a mess.

"I'm fine," she insisted as she was pushed into a chair and the three huddled around her, gathering ice, bandages and a washcloth. She explained the story of how she was on her way to work and was surprised and attacked by two men after coming off of the train.

"Well, it's a good thing that Batman showed up when he did," Janie commented. "It sickens me to think that something worse could've happened to you tonight, Emily."

"You're more than welcome to head home for the night if you're wanting to," Bill stated, leaning against the table. "I can call someone in for you."

She shook her head as Louise pressed a bandage across Emily's temple, covering the cut and handing the pack of ice to Emily to put to her forehead where a bruise was forming.

"It's a busy night, you're short-handed and I'm already here," she stated, holding the ice to her forehead.

Bill put his hand on her shoulder. "Okay, but take it easy tonight. I want you to let someone know if you feel dizzy or feeling sick to your stomach."

Emily smiled. "I know the signs of a concussion."

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean that you'll pay attention to it."

She stood up and handed him the pack of ice before walking out of the room to start work.

* * *

Damn.

Bruce lightly touched the cut across his chin, realizing it was still bleeding and by the looks of it, it would need stitches. He had had injuries of various degrees in the past but never to his face. He had always been careful to protect the only exposed area of his body but this one time, something happened. Bruce tried to think back. Perhaps he assumed the woman wouldn't be able to move as quickly or maybe he was just getting older and slower.

"You called for me, sir?" Alfred said, placing a tray of tea on the table beside where Bruce sat.

"Yeah, I need some help seeing a cut along my jaw."

Bruce tipped his head to the side as Alfred pulled on his glasses. Alfred took at look at the wound and grimaced.

"It'll probably need a few stitches but I don't trust myself enough to make it clean enough that it wouldn't be noticeable when it heals," Alfred said. "I wouldn't want to leave a scar on Bruce Wayne's face."

Bruce sighed. "And leave something that would connect me to Batman."

"Unfortunately, yes." Alfred paused for a moment, thinking. "I could take you to the hospital, sir."

Bruce winced. "I don't think that's a good idea. The last thing I need is to have it made known that I was there."

Alfred nodded and thought again as another idea came to mind. "I know of an after hours clinic near the Narrows that treats low-income families and the homeless. I do know that they don't ask for information."

"Sounds good."

* * *

Bruce limped into the clinic, the hoodie pulled low over his head and his worn jacket wrapped tightly around himself. He held a piece of cloth to his chin and made his way to the receptionist and signed in, barely looking at the woman sitting across from her and saying nothing. He handed the clipboard back to her and sat down in the waiting area between a teenage mother with her crying toddler and an asleep elderly man. Bruce would quickly glance up from time to time at the other patients in the room. A woman in dirty clothing with a horrible cough sat on the other side of the room, clearing her throat loudly every so often. He watched as these people came in and out as he continued to sit, waiting. Bruce nearly lost track of time when another name was called.

"Tom Worley?"

No one moved.

"Tom?"

Recognition passed over Bruce and he stood up, following the trailing form of a young woman in blue scrubs and a brown haired ponytail at the back of her neck. He followed her into an examination room and she closed the door behind her before going back to the clip board, silently reading off the few pieces of information she had been given.

"My name is Emily Tucker. Have a seat. So, you think that you need some stitches, Mr. Worley?" Emily said, reaching for a pair of gloves on the counter.

Bruce said nothing and sat down on the chair. He kept his eyes focused on the floor, watching her blue and white running shoes move around the room, gathering supplies and placing them on the counter in a row. Finally, she sat down across from him and smiled, reaching for the piece of cloth that Bruce held against his face.

He saw her face and instantly recognized it; the bruise and cut on the side of her face making it more obvious that she was the woman he encountered earlier that night and had inflicted the same wound on his face that she was about to suture for him. He quickly looked down, trying to think up a way to get out of his current situation.

"Mister Worley, I can help you if you would let me," she said, acting more sweetly than she was used to. "I promise that I'll do it as fast as I can but with it being a facial wound, I'll have to do many smaller stitches in order to minimalize a scar."

She gently reached out for the cloth to which Bruce allowed her to take. Gingerly, she touched his face and winced. "That's a pretty nasty cut. How did you get it?"

Bruce said nothing and kept his head down as she reached for the peroxide.

"Get me someone else, please," he said, softly.

Emily sighed, slowly getting more frustrated with the man and mentally tossing the sweetness into the trash. "I'm sorry Mister Worley but there isn't anyone else here that can treat you right now. We're short staffed tonight and I'm more than qualified to help you. You're welcome to leave and go to the hospital but without any insurance documentation, they will not treat you there."

He nodded as Emily reached for the peroxide once again. "By the looks of it, I'll need you to take off your hood too. The angle of where it's at is going to make it difficult."

Bruce groaned inwardly as he removed his hood. At first, Emily didn't even look at him, but instead she tilted his head to the side while she slid her chair closer to him to clean the cut before she got down to business. She began the first stitch and then finally, she glanced up at Bruce's face and then back at the cut on his face before looking back at Bruce's face. He didn't meet her eyes. She continued to glance back and forth, trying to concentrate on the stitch. As she tied the first one off, she sat back for a moment to reach for more of the clear thin thread.

"You never answered my question earlier," she said, softly. "How did you get this cut?"

He paused.

"I fell," he finally replied. He was certain that he heard her scoff and perhaps even roll her eyes if he could see her face. Bruce felt her touch his face again, placing the second stitch. It did sting and he held still.

"When I'm done, and it's healed it'll be barely noticeable," she assured him as she tied it off and reached for the next one.

"Thank you," he said, trying not to move his jaw too much.

"You're welcome Mister Wayne."

"So you do recognize me."

Emily nodded lightly. "It wasn't until you took off the hood though. I would've never had guessed otherwise. It's a pretty good disguise."

She reached for more thread and he took that moment to watch her as she carefully threaded the needle.

"So, what happened to you that you got that cut and bruise on your head?"

Emily paused, looking at Bruce before shaking her head. "I fell."

They stared at each other for a moment when the door suddenly opened and a young man walked in, his hands full of boxes of medical supplies. Emily quickly stood up, standing in front of Bruce, blocking any view that the young man would have of her patient.

"Matt, what are you doing in here?" she exclaimed, annoyed. The young man seemed startled at first but then disgusted as he pushed the boxes onto the countertop.

"Bringing in the orders you asked for, Miss Tucker," he snapped. "Don't have a fit or anything. Geez."

The young man closed the door behind him, cursing a few colourful words of profanity and mumbling about it being a certain time of the month. With a sigh, she turned back around.

"Sorry about that," she said, sitting back down.

"I appreciate that," Bruce stated. "Thank you."

As she placed her next stitch and she was certain that he wasn't going to move or speak without ruining her suture, she spoke.

"Honestly, I should be thanking you," she said, softly. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it into work alive tonight. I should apologize as well for giving this cut to you. I wasn't expecting you to be suddenly be behind me. I was certain that you were one of those men. Frankly, I wish you were."

Bruce didn't know what to say. A complete stranger knew that Batman and Bruce Wayne were one and the same. He would glance over at her, and he would see her blue eyes looking at him before quickly averting them back to the sutures.

An uneasy silence filled the room and remained while Emily continued to stitch up the wound.

Fifteen minutes later and she was done. She pushed back on her chair and stood up, pulling off her gloves and tossing them into the garbage can beside her. Emily began to write up the follow-up information on Bruce's chart as he stood up and pulled his hood back over his head. She ripped the top sheet off the clipboard continued to write on it before handing it to him.

"If you need help getting the stitches removed, come back in ten days. I work the midnight shift Monday to Friday and you can ask for me," she said, plainly. "In the meantime, keep it clean and be careful shaving around it."

Bruce nodded and pocketed the sheet of paper. "Thanks but I think I'll be able to handle it. Who do I pay?"

"No one," she replied. "The clinic is funded on donations. Most of our patients are unable to pay their own utility bills, so it isn't fair to require them to pay for medical care."

Emily extended her hand and smiled, one that he was certain was forced. "It was a nice meeting you Mr. Worley."

He took her hand and shook it. "You too, Miss Tucker."

She opened the door for him and he turned to look back once more before walking back into the waiting room and out of the clinic.

* * *

For the rest of the early morning hours, Emily could barely concentrate on the remainder of her patients. Thankfully, the majority of them were cases of ear infections, strep throat and the other unpleasant illnesses that came with the winter months. It was nothing that she couldn't handle. She was more than thankful when 6 am finally arrived and her shift ended. The horizon was just beginning to show evidence of a sunrise but it was still a while away. Emily pulled her coat around her and held onto her hood as the winter wind pulled at it. She walked down the street until she saw that familiar coat stand up from a bench looking out into a park along the sidewalk.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought that you'd be long gone or doing whatever it is that you do during the day. Don't you have a job somewhere?"

"I do. But I was going to walk you home," Bruce replied. "It's the least that I can do."

Emily continued to walk, keeping her pace brisk as the chill was getting to her. Bruce kept up.

"I can handle myself, Mr. Worley," she snapped. "Besides, you've already repaid me, remember? I've lived in this city my entire life. One mugging in my lifetime isn't going to change things."

"Of course not," he stated. "How about we go out for coffee then?"

Emily stopped and turned to face him. "If you're just afraid that I will be telling someone about your secret, you can rest easy. I'm a nobody in this town. I spend most of my time with the lowest of the low in Gotham. I live off of a meager salary and live in a junky area of the city. The last thing I'd want is to become noticeable. So please, do us both a favour and leave me alone."

Emily turned and continued on her way, leaving Bruce staring after her. After a few moments, a car pulled up beside him. He climbed into the back seat and pulled back the hood as the car began to move.

"Any luck, sir?"

Bruce shook his head and looked up at Alfred in the rearview mirror. "I'm still not certain that I can trust her."

"Of course not. You have just met her. Do you know anything about her?"

"Nothing more than what she has told me and her word that she won't tell anyone," Bruce replied, pulling the hoodie and the t-shirt beneath off and over his head. "Drive to Wayne Tower. I'm going to do some research."

Alfred nodded as he turned a corner.

"So I'm guessing that Batman isn't going to be working until those sutures are gone," Alfred stated as he continued to drive while Bruce changed into a white dress shirt and began to do up the buttons.

"Unfortunately yes," Bruce said.

"Perhaps this is a good time for a vacation, sir," Alfred suggested.

Bruce smiled.

* * *

Lucius walked down the hall and stopped, surprised to see both Bruce Wayne's door open and the man sitting at his desk, looking intently at the computer. He looked down at his watch, surprised to see Bruce at work so early for once.

"I don't believe I've ever seen you here this early before. This may be a new record, Mr. Wayne," Lucius said from the door. "Starting a new trend?"

Bruce chuckled. "I was in the area this morning and stopped in to do a little research."

Fox looked at the stacks of files on Bruce's desk. "A little research? On what?"

"More of a whom than a what," Bruce corrected.

Fox closed the door behind him and walked up to the desk.

"Her name is Emily Tucker," Bruce added.

Fox thought for a moment. "I don't believe I'm familiar with the name."

"She works at that after hour downtown clinic near the Narrows."

Fox nodded. "I've heard of that place. Westview Clinic, I believe. What about this woman?"

"Emily Tucker is the same woman that Batman ran into the other night and by some unusual circumstance that I wish not to go into, she injured him," Bruce said, pausing and pointing to his sutured chin, to which Lucius took a look at. "And she was also the same woman who sutured it up."

Lucius smiled astonishly. "What are the chances?"

"Aparantly good," Bruce replied. "She pieced it together that the man she stitched up was the same one that she injured."

Fox winced. "So, you're looking her up."

Bruce nodded. "So far all I've come up with is her home address, birthdate, place of birth, the year she graduated from University and a small collection of photo's from the newspapers."

"I guess that's good news that you haven't found that she's connected to the mob, has a relative in Arkham or has a criminal record."

Bruce sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"I wish there was something on her," he said, looking at the stacks of files. "She seems too clean. There's nothing on her. It's as though she has lived under the radar for her entire life."

"Maybe you have found one of the few normal people in Gotham that you may be able to trust with your secret," Fox concluded. "Rather than trying to look up information on her, why don't you get to know her? See if you can trust her. She may become an asset."

"She doesn't want to see me," Bruce replied.

Fox paused for a moment, thinking before he spoke. "Knowing your secret can be a burden, especially if you don't truly know the man behind the mask. If she only knows you as the man she has read about in the tabloids and has heard on the news, it can be frustrating and troublesome. You'll have to show her who you really are."

* * *

**2 weeks later**

No one was ready for it.

Another winter storm. While the rest of the world seemed to be getting ready for Spring, Gotham was still ankle-deep in Winter.

Emily pulled the clinic door closed tightly against the howling wind and the swirling snow. She brushed the accumulated snow off her shoulders and pushed the hood off of her head. She smiled politely at the few patients that had gathered in the room. A little girl waved at her as she sat in the corner with her mother.

She waved back as she walked into the back rooms and hung up her coat before gathering her stethoscope and pinning on her name tag. The door to Bill's office suddenly opened.

"Emily, can you come in here?"

Emily glanced at Louise at the receptionists desk, who merely shrugged back at her. Emily became concerned when Bill closed the door behind her.

"When were you going to tell us?"

"Tell you what?"

Oh my God, what is he talking about?

"You treated a Mr..." Bill paused looking down at a piece of paper in front of him. "A Mr. Tom Worley, correct?"

"Um, what was that pertaining to again? I can't recall the name."

He handed her the yellow copy of the information sheet that Bruce had filled out and she saw her writing in the followup box. She nodded.

"I remember," she said. "He was here for stitches."

"Did he say anything to you?"

Emily could feel her heart pounding in her ears. Was it evident on her face?

"No, he didn't say much at all."

Bill turned to his desk and picked up a large envelope. He handed it to her.

"This arrived by courier this afternoon," he said, as she opened the already opened letter. She looked inside. "I counted them myself. There are fifty 1000 dollar bills in there."

Emily nearly dropped the envelope in shock.

"What?"

"The donation was made out in your name to be used for the clinic from a Mr. Tom Worley," Bill told her, with a smile.

Tom Worley? Bruce Wayne.

"I don't know what you said to him, but you obviously made a good impression," he added.

Emily still could not believe what Bruce Wayne had done. Giving a donation is one thing, but giving one anonymously in her name was another.

"It's amazing," she said, incredulously. "I really can't believe it."

* * *

**2 nights later**

He waited at the receiving door, rubbing his hands together to keep warm. It wouldn't be long before that his absence would be noticed. The clinic was once again a busy place. He really didn't want to wait longer than he had to, but for a deal of this magnitude, he stuck around. Finally, he showed up.

"Do you have it?"

The man nodded, handing the package to Crane. "I'll have more for you next week."

"Good, bring more next time," Crane replied, his eyes lighting up. "This stuff is selling like hot cakes."

"This new drug you're creating, I want in on it," the man said.

Crane smiled. "Fine, but it will cost you."

"That won't be a problem."

"Come into some money, did we?"

"You can say that."


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! This was supposed to be out last week, but due to time constraints and other priorities, I was finally able to get it posted today. Thank you to those of you who added it to their favourites and alerts.

Please review!

* * *

Saturday March 27th

Again.

For the second time that week, the city was getting buried in another snowstorm. Forecasters had predicted a cold, snowy winter and it wasn't a disappointment. Even with the promise of springtime right around the corner, March had so far been relentless in snowstorms. The weather did make the walk home from the grocery store even more treatureous, especially with bags in each hand. Emily was thankful for the weekend off and a warm night in. She was certain that she was coming down with one of the many sicknesses she had been exposed to and wasn't looking forward to heading back into work the following night. She felt achy, her throat was getting sore and her head was feeling heavy. Despite how she felt and the weather, she still went for groceries.

She tapped the snow off her shoes against the brick wall before walking up the three flights of steel steps that went up alongside her building just inside the alleyway. Emily made a mental note to herself to shovel her part of the steps as her boots sunk into the inches of snow that had accumulated on them during her short time away from home.

After a brief moment of fumbling with her keys in the darkness of the evening and balancing bags, Emily walked into her apartment and closed the door behind her with her foot, sighing as she was met with the warm air filling the space from her radiator by the window. She glanced over at it and saw her black and white cat, Freddie snoozing awkwardly over the coils. All she had to do was drop her keys onto the table by the door and the cat lifted his head. She put the bags down and bent over to take off her boots only to be greeted by the cat walking between her legs, begging for the attention he had missed while she was gone. With a smile, Emily ran her hand over his back and up his tail before picking up the grocery bags and put them on the kitchen counter.

"I know I'm late, Freddie, but I'll get your supper in a moment," she said with a groan, as the cat followed her, meowing loudly in protest.

He followed her into the bedroom and rolled around on her bed as she slowly changed into her t-shirt and sweat pants and let her hair down for the first time that day. She ran her hands through her hair, stopping to massage the sinus areas on her head. Her head was starting to feel the familiar twang of heaviness before a cold.

Freddie was right behind her when she made her way back to the kitchen. Emily reached for the remote and turned on the television, once again hearing the forecast of more snow.

Once Freddie had been fed and she had finished eating her chicken salad with leftovers from a previous meal, she sat down on the couch with a hot coffee, hoping it would clear the congestion that was starting up. She was looking forward to a quiet night, curled up on the couch while watching a movie. That hope was quickly dashed with a familiar knock pattern on the door. Emily smiled as she went to the door, knowing instantly who was there.

"Michael! What are you doing here?"

The man walked in, brushing the snow off his shoulders and stomping his feet on her mat.

"Rehearsals have been cancelled due to this horrible weather," he said, taking his coat off and hanging it up on her coat rack by the door. "So, I was coming through your area so I decided to stop by. And oh, I'm wanting my tea press back from you. I met this guy named Marcus within the company who is as interested in loose leaf tea as I am."

"Wow! Another tea-coinoseur such as yourself that is interested in you?" She feigned shock. "Is it really possible? Weren't you just seeing this Kyle fellow?"

Michael let out a sarcastic laugh. "Very funny. Kyle was experimenting and he irritated me. I'm wanting to make a good impression with Marcus so I'm hoping a night of tea might help."

"Of course," Emily said, smiling. "Oh, and stay a while and warm up. I always look forward to your company."

"Thanks. I think I might." Michael sat down on her couch as Freddie curled up on his lap while the man gave the cat his attention. He looked over at Emily as she opened her cupboards reaching blindly into the highest shelves for the familiar tea press. After watching her for a few seconds, Michael stood up and walked into her tiny kitchen and reached around her and managed to get the tea press.

"I should really keep you around for days when I'm cleaning my cupboards," Emily quipped as Michael dusted off the lid of the press with his sleeve. She let out a sneeze and quickly reached for the tissue before she blew her nose.

"Thankfully, I finally have a job so I won't be needing any help finding work," he stated, as he sat back down on the couch. "Speaking of which, are you coming to the opening night of Pirates of Penzance?"

Emily smiled. "I wouldn't miss it." She paused for a moment. "As long as I'm feeling better by then."

"You will be! It's not until the 10th."

He paused for a moment, considering his next statement.

"I'll have a set of 2 tickets waiting for you at the box office."

"Thanks, but I'll be only needing one," she said, sitting beside him. She pulled her knees up and took a sip of her coffee.

"So, I'm guessing things between you and Bill haven't changed."

Emily sighed, blowing the steam off of her mug. "It won't be changing either. If there's anything I have learned, it's to never mix relationships and work."

"How's that going?"

"It's awkward seeing him each day, knowing that I'm the one that blew him off," she replied. "We never talk about it and no one brings it up, but I know that everyone is wondering what's going on between us. But it's been over 6 months now."

Michael leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "I'll leave the pair of tickets at the door for you anyways. Make it a girls night."

Emily winced. "I think I'd rather just come on my own."

Michael shrugged. "You just need to get out and meet new people."

"I meet new people everyday."

"I'm talking about people not in need of medical attention," he corrected. "And preferably those who are clean and have shaved once this month."

Emily smirked. "Working a midnight shift with only weekends off for the past 4 years doesn't leave much time for socializing and I'm all right with that. I've been on my own for so long anyways, I wouldn't be able to handle the change of being in a relationship."

"You'd be surprised how quickly someone can change when the right person comes along," Michael said.

Emily chuckled. "I'd feel bad for the poor guy that would have to put up with me."

Michael rolled his eyes and grunted.

"Em, I'm going to end up strangling you if you keep talking like that. There's nothing wrong with you. You're smart, funny and beautiful and I'm going to tell you straight up because I'm your friend. You need to stop putting up walls with people."

"I don't do that!" she exclaims.

"Sure you do," he quickly retorted. "It's that attitude of yours. There was a time when I knew you when you were pleasant to be around."

Emily sighed.

"That changed a long time ago."

Michael paused, knowing exactly when it happened.

"You don't need to keep punishing yourself," he said softly. "It's been nearly 12 years, Emily. It's about time that you forgave yourself and move on."

She sighed. "I can't. I don't even know how I could."

The room fell into silence. After a short while, Michael stood up and left the apartment, giving her a kiss on the forehead before heading out. Batman watched from the rooftop of a building across the street. He kept his hand to his ear, listening carefully to the ambient sounds of her apartment as she locked the door after her friend, Michael left the apartment. Batman watched as she closed the curtains and left only a lamp on beside her as she turned her attention to the TV. Realizing that he wasn't going to hear anything else, Batman turned his attention to the rest of Gotham.

* * *

Gordon shuddered in the cold wind on top of the darkened MCU building. He waited, much like he did nearly every night. Sometime Batman would show up and other times, he wouldn't. Gordon hoped that this would be one night that Batman would decide to make an appearance. After a half hour, a figure appeared out of the shadows.

"I have some news," Gordon said. "I've gotten the toxicology report on that homicide victim. He had a unique neurotoxin in his bloodstream, not unlike the one that Crane infected Gotham with 7 years ago. There was something else on him."

Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out a small clear bag with a piece of paper inside.

"This was on the body," he said, handing it to Batman. He turned it over, and saw it was a name written neatly on a piece of paper along with the name of a company.

"Bradley Mattern?"

Gordon nodded. "According to what we were able to find out, Bradley Mattern works for that pharmaceutical company in Miami called Genwerx. Surprisingly when we inquired about him to Genwerx, they had never heard of him nor had they ever employed a man by that name."

Batman thought while Gordon spoke, trying to think back where he had heard of Genwerx in one of the business dealings. Once Gordon finished speaking, Batman nodded.

"I'll see what I can find," he said, just before jumping off the rooftop and back into the darkness.

* * *

Emily leaned back against the couch and stretched before looking at the clock. 2:34am.

Damn midnight shift.

She was just starting to feel tired. She had learned a long time ago that it wasn't worth the effort to go to sleep at a decent time only to lie awake for hours on end. Her body had been use to sleeping during the day and working at night for so long that it became a norm for her.

Emily turned off the TV and stood up before calling for Freddie to come out from wherever he had been hiding. The black and white cat sauntered out from under the couch and coiled himself around Emily's leg, eagerly waiting for some petting. As Emily leaned over to touch him, she noticed that he was chewing on something. After a brief verbal spat ordering the cat to spit it out and forcing the cats mouth to open, she got it.

"What the hell?"

Emily turned the foreign object over in her hand, trying to figure it out when she realized what it was. A small wireless microphone.

"Where did you find this, Fred?"

The cat merely looked up at her before disappearing into the bedroom, readying himself for a long snooze. Emily looked around the room, eyeing the radiator by the window where he enjoyed to sit. She pulled back the curtain, looking at the window from top to bottom. She checked each window in her living room, having found nothing else. Emily walked into the bathroom and glared at the window. She nearly stomped up to it and looked around the trim until she found it. Another microphone.

"Son of a bitch."

Her curiosity and concern turned to anger. She filled up the sink with water and dropped both devices into it, hoping it would mess up any wiring in it.

She marched out of the bathroom and flipped on the bedroom light, startling Freddie who had taken up residence in her bed. Emily climbed up on the bed and pulled open the window above the headboard, sweeping the trim and window ledge with her hand. Another one. Emily was steaming.

"You've got to be kidding me."

All thoughts of heading to bed were over and she spent the next few hours pulling apart her apartment determined to find any other microphone bugs that may have been left. She played scenarios in her head on how long the bugs had been in her apartment and even how Batman managed to get them inside without her knowing. She was angry.

* * *

Monday Morning, March 29th

Lucius Fox hummed to himself as he waited in the elevator that would take him up to the highest reaches of Wayne Tower. The sun was shining and glistened on the snow and promised to be the beginning of a good week. He smiled and greeted employees as he made his way towards his office. He had made it a priority to know the names of the men and women who worked with him each and everyday. After all, he did spend more time at Wayne Tower than he did with his own family, as did most of the other employees. All except for Bruce Wayne. The man would make appearances for a few hours every week. To find him at Wayne Tower in the early morning twice in one week was highly unusual.

He greeted Jessica with a smile as he went into his office, immediately locking it behind him before he headed for his private elevator behind his desk. Within moments the door opened and his ears were hit with the sound of a loud roar of an engine. He turned and walked towards it, finding the Tumbler making quick turns in the large open space while Alfred stood behind a computer, large head phones over his ears.

Lucius walked up beside him and smiled before watching the Tumbler continue to go through the test trials. After another minute, the large tank-like vehicle came to an abrupt stop before the engine hummed down to silent.

Bruce Wayne's head suddenly popped out from inside the Tumbler.

"How was that, Alfred?"

"You're still burning up too much power on the turns," he called back. "The tires are off by a variance of 1.3 percent."

"That's it?"

"That's a big margin, sir," Alfred stated.

Bruce nodded and climbed out, walking over towards Mr. Fox.

"I was surprised to see you here this early," Fox said. "Twice in a month. Will this become a habit?"

Bruce smirked, wiping some residual grease from between his fingers with a cloth.

"You never know. That's not the only reason I came in this morning. Do you remember a company named Genwerx?"

Fox nodded. "That pharmaceutical company from Florida? Yeah, we cancelled our agreement with them a year or so ago."

"I think that it's time that we try to resolve our differences with them and make an appointment for a meeting to see if we arrange a deal."

"Is something going on with them?"

Bruce shrugged. "Maybe. They may be working with Crane out here."

Fox nodded. "I'll get Jessica to get that meeting arranged for you."

Bruce thanked him before turning back to the tumbler. He picked up a drill and began to take off a piece of metal from the side of the tumbler, once again filling the large room with noise. Fox smiled and turned to leave.

* * *

"I just need to speak with him for a moment."

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that without an appointment and he doesn't make them with the general public."

Emily was getting frustrated as was Jessica. It had been a long night of working for Emily and the only thing that she wanted to do was go home and sleep off the sickness that she was fighting. Her sinus' were heavy, her nose was stuffed and her throat was so sore but she managed to make her way across town to Wayne Tower. It was the only way she knew how to contact Bruce Wayne.

"Is he even here?"

"I cannot divulge that information," Jessica replied,.

"Can you at least give me a number that I can call?"

"I can't do that."

"Is there anything you can do or do you just sit there all day, typing monotonously at a computer looking pretty?"

"Excuse me," Jessica said, standing up while picking up the receiver of the phone. "Please leave or I'll call security."

"I will leave once you give me an answer or direct me to where I can find Bruce Wayne."

Jessica shook her head and proceeded to dial.

"Can I help out here?"

Both women turned to see Lucius Fox at the doorway to his office.

"I was just calling security to have this woman escorted off the property, sir," Jessica said, the phone to her ear.

Lucius looked at the woman that seemed to be causing tension in the usually mild-mannered secretary. The woman appeared tired, her brown hair pulled back in an unruly ponytail on the back of her head with black rimmed glasses and scrubs.

"What is your name?" he finally asked.

"Emily Tucker," she replied. "I was needing to speak with Bruce Wayne about an issue that I'm certain that he'll be familiar with."

A smile tugged at the side of Fox's mouth. It was the woman that knew Bruce's secret.

"Come in," he said, before turning to Jessica. "And you can cancel the call to security."

Emily followed Fox into his office, hearing the door click with a lock behind her. The man seemed to stare at her, a curious smile on his face as silence filled the room. Neither said a word for a few seconds. Emily glanced around the room, seeing the bookshelf filled with books and the large window overlooking the city.

"So, you're the woman who gave Bruce that nasty cut on his face and then sewed it up," Fox said. He could see the surprise on her face. "I have to admit that you did a pretty good job. The scar is barely noticeable."

Emily was shocked. "Uh, thank you."

"Now, I understand that you want to see him, am I right?"

Emily nodded.

"Come with me."

He stepped back, allowing the elevator behind his desk to open and for Emily to step in. She glanced cautiously at the older man before taking a step into the elevator. Fox followed in behind her and the door closed. Emily could sense the elevator dropping.

"Where are we going?"

"The old applied sciences division of Wayne Enterprises," he replied. "No one goes down here anymore."

The door finally opened and Fox stepped back, sensing the woman's curiosity. Emily stepped out from the small space and into the large warehouse-like room. She saw the computers and tables covered with equipment. She kept looking until she saw the tumbler sitting in an open space. A man stood with a blow torch over it, sparks flying around him. Fox walked towards Alfred and Emily followed, more than a few feet behind as she took in what she was seeing. When Alfred saw Emily, he was more than a little startled. Fox smiled and nodded, assuring him that it was all right.

"Master Bruce," Alfred called out. "It seem that you have some company."

The man with the blow torch quickly looked up, immediately turning off the flame and pushing back his mask from over his face.

"Emily?"

Bruce climbed down from on top of the tumbler and walked towards the computer area where she stood with Alfred and Fox. He put down the torch. He introduced her to Alfred, who promptly shook her hand.

"What are you doing here?"

Emily mentally shook her head, trying to erase the attractiveness of Bruce Wayne in jeans and t-shirt from her mind. She had never met him as simply Bruce Wayne before. Being angry with the man was going to be difficult, but remembering how her privacy was invaded by a complete stranger was enough.

"I wanted to thank you for that donation that you made to the clinic," she said.

He smiled. "Well, I did receive some services there and I assumed that the clinic could use the help."

"We do, thank you."

"You didn't have to come all the way down here to tell me that," he said.

She reached into her purse and pulled out the ziplock bag holding the three soaked microphones and held them out in front of her.

"I'm returning some of your toys that you graciously left in my apartment," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. He held out his dirty hand as she dropped the bag into it. "And maybe you can explain why they were there."

"I needed to know for certain that I could trust you," he said.

"By bugging my apartment?" she exclaimed. "I haven't gone running to the newspapers or television stations claiming that I know who Batman is, have I? Trust is a two-way street, Mister Wayne. For all I know Batman is exactly what the media has been calling him for years; a murderer."

"I'm not a murderer," he quickly interjected with more than a hint of bitterness. Emily scoffed and suddenly sneezed, just as he was about to speak again. He watched her reach into her purse and pull out a tissue before proceeding to blow her nose. Then, she continued.

"How am I supposed to trust your word? You crawled into my apartment and set up microphones in each room! Did you put cameras up too?"

"No, you found them all," he replied, softly as he watched her. "Are you feeling all right?"

"No, I feel like crap," she replied, harshly. "And I came across town after working all night to give those back to you and now I'm going to be heading home for a much needed sleep." She turned to Alfred and Lucius who had turned towards the computers sometime during Bruce and Emily's conversation, attempting to make themselves scarce.

"It was pleasure meeting you, Mr. Fox and Mr. Pennyworth," she said, sniffing before turning to Bruce. "Good night Mr. Wayne or rather goodbye."

She turned and began to walk away.

"Let me drive you home," Bruce said, as she began to walk away. He continued to follow.

"No thank you," she said. "I'm capable of getting myself home."

"Emily, I'm trying to be nice to you after you come down here accusing me of being a murderer. Let me drive you home."

She scoffed which elicited a series of coughs from deep in her chest.

"I can be as stubborn as you," Bruce stated.

Emily turned and glared. "I'm not stubborn."

She coughed again and Emily reached back into her purse for a tissue.

Bruce let out a laugh. "I've only been in your presence for a total of a half hour since I've met you and the one thing I know about you is that you are stubborn." He paused, reaching out to touch her forehead. Surprised, Emily backed up the moment he touched her forehead. "And I also know that you're not feeling well, you look pale, you're probably extremely tired and you have a fever."

"No, I don't."

Bruce nodded. "You do. I can't let you walk home like that, especially in this weather." He looked over his shoulder to where Lucius and Alfred were standing by the computers, turning things off and shutting machines off. "I'm done here for the day anyways."

"Done for the day? It's not even 9am."

"I was busy all night as well and I've been here since 5. So, how about that ride?"

Emily sighed. As much as she didn't want to take the offered ride, she felt miserable. "Okay."

* * *

With rush hour over, Alfred managed to get out of the financial district in record time. He looked into the mirror and glanced back at his passengers in the back. Emily had leaned her head back against the seat, her eyes looking heavy. Bruce read the newspaper in front of him. As they approached Emily's street, she sat up straight and looked out the window.

"Do you know the way to my place, Mr. Pennyworth?"

Alfred glanced back up at Emily and nodded. "I do, and feel free to call me Alfred."

Emily smiled and leaned back in her seat, hearing the sound of the leather protest under her.

"Would you mind stopping at the corner? I don't want the car to draw any attention by my apartment."

"Certainly, miss."

The car slowed and pulled over along the curb. She grabbed her purse and pulled her coat around herself.

"Feel better soon, Miss Tucker," Alfred said.

"I will," she replied, turning to Bruce beside her. "I appreciate the ride. Thank you."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

She began to open the door when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Hold on a second," he said, pulling a card from his wallet. He reached forward towards the centre console and pulled out a pen, writing something on the back. "This is my business number at work and I wrote my personal number on the back, if you ever need to get ahold of me again."

Emily took the card, and nodded before pocketing it and stepping out of the car. As she made her way towards the stairs leading up to her apartment, she looked ahead seeing the car turn at the next stop sign. When she finally made her way into her apartment, she pulled out that small card from her pocket. Bruce Wayne's name was front and centre in bold capital letters followed by his number and general contact information. She flipped it over to see the scribbled numbers that he added followed by a short few words - I trust you.

* * *

Bill closed the door to his office, locking it quietly behind him before going into his desk. He was ready to return home after a long night of working, but there was something that he had to do prior to that. He picked up the phone and dialled a number.

"Yeah, can I speak with Shawn Dravis please?" He paused, waiting for the man to pick up the phone. Finally he heard a greeting.

"Hey Shawn, it's Bill," he said.

"_Nice to hear from you_," Shawn said. "_How are things going_?"

"Not bad," Bill replied. "I'm just wondering about that shipment that was supposed to be in yesterday. When is it scheduled to arrive?"

"It s_hould be there within the week,_" Shawn replied.

"He's getting antsy, Shawn," Bill stated, his voice wavering a bit. "I don't know how patient this man can be especially when an important shipment is late."

_"Look, man. I'm doing the best that I can with the circumstances. It's not easy getting packages out of the building without anyone knowing let alone risk my job because of it_."

Bill sighed. "I know, I know. How's Mom doing?"

"_Not too good_," Shawn replied. "_I visited her last night and she was asking about you._"

"Take care of her for me," Bill said. "I'll be sending the payment sometime next week."

_"Sounds good._"

The men hung up the phone. Bill ran his hands anxiously through his hair. He had never dreamed that he would be getting into a mess such as this, but here he was. He was up to his eyeballs in debt from medical school, and now he had the medical bills coming in from his Mother's care. He felt stuck. He pulled open the top drawer of his desk, attempting to find the small vial. He found the familiar item but hesitated before closing the drawer. An old picture of himself and Emily smiled back at him, almost chastising him for what he was doing to himself. Bitterly, he tossed the vial back into the drawer and shoved it closed with a bang.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - Not too much excitement in this one, but it's still needed to continue the plot. Excitement will come...believe me. :)

* * *

Tuesday morning, April 6th

"It's all set," Lucius announced, when he saw Bruce Wayne walking into his office. "There is a meeting set for you to meet with the CEO of Genwerx next Monday at 1pm."

"Great," Bruce said, as Lucius stood up handing him a folder.

"I took the liberty of pulling out the old files from our prior negotiations with Genwerx," Lucius said, watching as Bruce opened the file and skimmed over the dozen or so documents that were inside. "I think it may be a good idea to bring someone along for this meeting."

Bruce looked up. "Are you volunteering?"

Lucius smiled. "As knowledgeable as I am concerning the pharmaceutical and medical industry, I was thinking of someone more in tune with any medical jargon that an aloof Bruce Wayne may encounter."

Bruce furrowed his brow, wondering what Lucius was getting at, until it hit him.

"Emily Tucker?"

Lucius nodded. "She may be the perfect fit for a position such as this."

Bruce thought more about it for a moment. He thought back to their last meeting, recalling how she was extremely angry with him.

"I don't know if she'd agree to something like this. She wasn't really too fond of me. I doubt she'd want to help after what I did."

"It can't hurt to try." Bruce looked up at Lucius, catching his smile.

* * *

Later that night

Bruce adjusted the hood over his head as he looked up at the metal steps leading up along the side of the building. The snow had melted off of them, leaving them bare but wet. He carefully held the small bouquet of flowers as he made his way up the steps to her door. Bruce knocked a few times, waiting for nearly a minute before he heard the chorus of clicks as the door was being unlocked and then opened.

He watched as the emotions quickly flashed over Emily's face. Surprise, to happiness, to shock and then to dread. She reached outside, pulling him by the arm into her apartment and then quickly closed the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to see you. How are you feeling?" Bruce asked, holding out the flowers in front of him. She glanced at him and then to the flowers, thanking him softly before taking them.

"Better. Did anyone see you out there?"

"Not that I know of," he replied, standing by the door as she walked towards her kitchen with the flowers in hand. He noticed that she was dressed in light blue scrubs, with a long sleeve pink shirt beneath the top. "It's getting dark out there and I hoped to catch you before you headed into work."

"I don't leave for another hour or so," she stated, as she filled a vase with tap water and carefully placed the flowers inside of it. She turned to Bruce who was still standing at her door.

"So, what's up?"

"I have a job opportunity for you."

"I have a job," she said matter-of-factly.

Bruce smirked. "Yeah, but this one is a one-time deal that would involve you being present at a meeting as my personal assistant."

"Wouldn't someone like you already have a personal assistant? There's that woman I met," she said, walking back towards the door.

"Jessica? She's a secretary who is employed by Wayne Enterprises. I would be hiring you personally. I'm needing someone who would have some medical knowledge."

"And naturally, you thought of me," she stated, with a scoff.

Bruce nodded. "You also know more about me than any other assistant would."

Emily glanced down at the floor and crossed her arms, knowing exactly what Bruce was meaning.

"All you would need me for is for this meeting, right? I wouldn't have to do anything else? No parties or grandish shindigs?"

He shook his head. "Nothing else. I'll even pay you for your time and any time that you would miss from work."

Emily frowned. "I'd miss work?"

He winced slightly, forgetting to note the fact that it wasn't a day trip.

"Yeah, the meeting is in Miami next Monday," he replied. "We'd leave on Sunday morning and return late Monday night."

"I haven't missed work in at least two years and that was only because I had the stomach flu," she stated. "I'm not going to call in to say that I'm going to Florida for a day or two. That would raise too many questions that I'd be unwilling to answer."

"Of course. Don't you get vacation time?"

She looked at him incredulously. "I get just a few vacation days a year and I doubt that going to a meeting in Florida with you will feel like a vacation."

"I will pay you," he reminded her. He watched as she processed the idea in her head. "I need your help with this, Emily."

She took a deep sigh. "I'd miss work just on Monday night?"

Bruce smiled and nodded.

"Okay then," she finally said. "I'll ask to get Monday off next week when I go in tonight."

"Thank you," Bruce said. A thought suddenly hit him and he reached into his coat pocket, pulling out an envelope. He handed it to her and she noticed it wasn't sealed but the top lip was stuck inside, revealing a key and a piece of paper.

"Go to that location Thursday morning after your shift," he said. "I'll meet you there to go over some things for that meeting prior to leaving on Sunday. If you have any trouble finding it, give me a call."

She looked at the address. "Where is this place?"

"It's by the harbour. There is a no trespassing sign saying that the property is owned by Wayne Enterprises. You can't miss it."

Emily nodded.

* * *

Thursday Morning, April 8th

As the sun rose over the city, Emily walked down the stairs from the elevated train stop, feeling the wind blow up behind her as the train took off down the tracks once again. In the distance, she could hear the sound of seagulls crying out by the harbour. She had spent the entire shift earlier that night preoccupied with what she was getting herself into. She managed to get the time off for vacation but she had some hesitation in working not just for Bruce Wayne but for Batman. She was still uneasy, knowing what she had heard about him.

Emily began to walk down the quiet street, lined with a chain link fence on either side holding old shipping containers waiting to be put aboard the next ocean liner that came into port. She stopped when she saw an entrance into the shipping yard with the sign clearly marked no trespassing that Bruce mentioned. Emily kept walking until she saw the storage container marking the same number that Bruce had written on the paper. She took out the key and pushed it into the lock and proceeded to unlock the container. The door squealed as she pulled it open, surprised to find nothing but an empty box.

"What the hell is this?" she mumbled, looking down at the paper in hand to verify the numbers were the same.

"You have the right place, my dear."

Emily practically jumped three feet in the air. She glanced over her shoulder, and recognized the man as the gentleman she had met at Wayne Tower. She put a hand to her chest, and took a deep breath, calming her racing heart.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," Alfred said, pulling the door open further.

Emily smiled. "After a long night of working, I needed the jolt to wake me up a bit."

Alfred smiled, leading her into the dark container before closing the door behind him. Emily was about to question the darkness and what they were doing inside a storage container when she felt a rumbling from under her feet as they began to be slowly lowered down. Emily allowed her eyes to adjust to the bright light. She stood for a few seconds on the platform as Alfred stepped off and walked into the large underground bunker. Emily followed him, looking around the room, seeing the Tumbler sitting near the far end of the large space.

"Master Bruce is on his way," Alfred said, pulling open a door in the wall and disappearing into it for a moment. She slowly walked over, unsure as to whether she should follow. Instead, he walked out carrying a garment bag in his hand. "He asked that we get started without him."

Alfred hung it up and unzipped it.

"I understand that you're accompanying us to Miami on Sunday," he said.

Emily nodded, as she looked curiously inside the garment bag.

"Master Bruce has asked that you wear something befitting a personal assistant of his," Alfred told her.

Emily took the liberty to pull out the clothing.

"Seriously?"

Alfred shrugged. "It's all about keeping up a persona."

"Yeah, but I agreed to being his personal assistant and not one of his models he carries around on his hip," she stated. "Besides, Mr. Wayne is the one with the double life."

"Nevertheless, he's asked that you at least try it on for size," Alfred said, handing her the clothing. "We can always change things as we see fit."

He led her into the large walk-in closet. "Unfortunately, this place doesn't leave room to move around in. I hope this will do for a place to change."

Emily glanced around the closet, with the cement flooring and walls of racking holding various types of mens clothing. "It'll work."

Alfred nodded before leaving and closing the door behind him. Emily hung up the clothing on the nearest rack and pulled out the skirt, holding it up to herself before she shook her head. A minute later, she walked out barefoot, tugging on the blouse, trying to stretch it out somewhat. Alfred noticed her and walked over to where she stood. Emily turned to see a full length mirror resting against the wall.

Emily took a look at her appearance. The black pencil skirt fell just above her knee and wasn't much to comment about. It fit her snugly but that was the least of her concerns. The white short sleeve blouse showed more cleavage than Emily was used to, but the problem was that it extremely tight fitting. Awkwardly, she tried to adjust it.

Alfred noticed her discomfort and appeared in the mirror just behind her. "At least it doesn't look horrible."

She chuckled and let out a sigh before shaking her head. "I can't do this."

Alfred looked at her through the mirror's reflection. "You can. Just play the part, like Master Bruce does."

She looked at him, and he seemed to hear her question him.

"The playboy facade that he puts on for the world isn't him," Alfred said, handing her a pair of shoes. "It's a person that the world expects him to be and he plays right along."

Emily looked down at the black high heels as she listened to Alfred. "No one would ever suspect that a man as pompous and arrogant as Bruce Wayne could ever be Batman."

"Are you calling me pompous and arrogant?"

Emily heard the deep voice echo throughout the large room and she looked over her shoulder to see Bruce Wayne being lowered on the platform beside a blue and black Yamaha motor bike. He put the helmet on the seat before taking a step off the platform and walked towards Alfred and Emily.

"I would never dream of it sir," Alfred replied, with a smirk, before he turned back to Emily while she managed to put on the heels, raising her height by two inches.

"How are things going, Alfred?" Bruce asked, looking from him to Emily as she stood with his back towards him. He looked towards her reflection as he walked up behind her. He barely recognized her. Every time that they had spoken, she had been wearing scrubs.

"Very well, I'd say," Alfred replied as Emily sighed. "But it seems that Miss Tucker would disagree."

"What's the problem?"

"I feel ridiculous," she admitted.

Bruce's eyes travelled from her head to her feet as he put his hands and he crossed his arms. Emily felt that his eyes lingered a little longer than they should have. Finally, he uncrossed his arms and shrugged.

"I think you look fine," he said. "What's don't you like?"

Emily sighed, knowing that she was going to have to be frank with him.

"I'm a comfort girl," she told him, turning towards him. "I wear either scrubs, jeans, jogging pants, t-shirts or tank tops, you name it. The last time I wore anything remotely close to this was for a job interview during college when I realized that the interviewer liked seeing a little more skin on his prospective female employees." She paused looking back into the mirror and placed a hand over the fabric that hung on her hips "Needless to say, I didn't get the job because I was unwilling to flirt with him."

Bruce looked towards her.

"I've done some research on the guy that we're going to be meeting on monday and he's notorious for being a womanizer," Bruce admitted.

"When were you going to tell me that?"

"I was going to tell you," he said. "That's the partial reason to why the clothing is the way it is."

She looked at him incredulously.

"You want me to flirt with him?"

"Not flirt, just keep him interested without speaking. Enough to keep him distracted for a moment or two."

Emily looked into the mirror. "So you're saying like body language, lingering eye contact, that sort of thing?"

Bruce nodded, before he turned and walked towards the table as Alfred handed him some glasses.

Emily sighed audibly and shook her head as she looked at her reflection. She turned herself to the side, glancing back at her figure. "Good god, the moment the snow breaks I'm going to get started on loosing the weight I gained over the wintertime."

Bruce winced as he walked back up to her, handing her a pair of glasses.

"Loose it where?"

She felt a redness come up to her cheeks and she took the glasses from him. "Nevermind."

"The glasses are not prescription so you may wear them with contacts," Alfred told her, as he walked back over towards her.

Emily held them up and placed them over her eyes, seeing how she was slowly being transformed into someone unfamiliar to her.

"And her hair?" Alfred asked Bruce as he looked back over his shoulder. Bruce turned as Emily pulled the elastic out of the pony tail at the back of her neck, allowing her brown hair to fall down past her shoulders. She ran her fingers through it, getting them caught in a few knots but she managed to loosen the strands.

Bruce stared at her for a few seconds, getting caught up in a memory. A memory of someone seen long ago but never forgotten and he was certain he saw her once again for a brief moment. It was Rachel. He was certain that it was her that he recognizing when he was looking at the back of Emily's head. It wasn't until Emily looked over her shoulder that the memory was lost.

"Master Bruce?"

Bruce looked towards Alfred's concerned face.

"Is everything all right, sir?"

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, quickly.

"I was just asking if you'd want her hair to be up or left down," Alfred said, his concern still evident in his face.

"Up, I think," Bruce said.

Emily nodded and proceeded to pull her hair off her shoulders and twisted it with as much skill as she could muster in a few seconds and held it to the back of her head.

"Like this," Emily said, holding the weight of her hair against her head.

Bruce simply nodded, before turning back to the computer screen in front of him.

Emily was confused. Alfred smiled politely to her, suggesting that she should change as they were most likely done. Once she disappeared into the closet, Alfred walked over to Bruce.

"Now, what's going on"

"What do you mean?"

"You were staring at Emily's back for more than a few seconds sir," Alfred said. "I called your name at least twice."

Bruce shook his head. "Emily just reminded me of Rachel for a brief moment."

Alfred stared back at the closed door where Emily was changing to ensure the woman wouldn't walk out at that moment.

"She is a beautiful woman," Alfred said quietly. "To admit that wouldn't be a crime nor would it be hinder your memory of Miss Dawes."

Bruce said nothing, but kept his eyes on the computer.

"Rachel would have wanted you to move on with your life," Alfred added. "It's been five years."

Alfred was about to speak again when the door to the closet opened and Emily walked out. He turned back to Bruce to see the man already walking towards the Tumbler.

Emily placed the garment bag on the table beside Alfred as the Tumbler roared to life. Alfred looked over at a computer screen as she watched the Tumbler rev it's engine. He looked over at her and merely smiled, knowing that any words exchanged wouldn't be heard. Finally, it stopped and Bruce was seen climbing out of the tumbler.

"Any change that time?" he asked.

"Much better," Alfred replied. "Output remained at .3 percent."

Bruce looked over and saw Emily standing beside Alfred, putting her hair back up in a ponytail. He climbed out and walked back to Alfred.

"This may be a stupid question, but what kind of mileage do you get with that thing?"

A smile grew on Bruce's face. "The engine itself doesn't run on any kind of fuel. It's electrical. There are other components that operate with other energy sources but the engine is all electric. I've been trying to see if I can get the electrical energy to remain consistent."

"Really?" Emily looked from him to the Tumbler and then back to Bruce. "Do you mind if I get a closer look?"

Bruce nodded with a smile. "Be my guest."

Emily walked towards the silent Tumbler with Bruce following slightly behind.

"This thing is amazing," she said, running her hand along the side of the Tumbler. "Did you build it?"

Bruce shook his head. "Mr. Fox did. Much of the equipment I use were prototypes developed by Wayne Enterprises that were never put into full production."

Emily nodded in understanding as she rose up on her tiptoes to peek over the side and into the drivers seat. Bruce suddenly climbed up and held his hand out towards her.

"You can have a look inside, if you'd like."

Emily smiled widely as she took his hand and was pulled up onto the top of the Tumbler before sliding into the passenger seat.

Bruce pushed a button beside the wheel and the roof slid overtop of them and sealed with a click.

He watched her eyes cover every square inch of the Tumbler and even saw her run her hand along the metal handrail beside the passenger seat. The flashing lights and the control panel lit up her face in the dark, small space.

"So, what do you think?"

Emily turned back to Bruce, a smile on her face - one of the few genuine ones that he had ever seen. Her face seemed to light up. "This is crazy. I can't believe I'm actually sitting in this thing."

Bruce smirked and flipped a button above the console. "I'm going to give it another go, Alfred."

"Go ahead sir."

Emily heard Alfred's voice come over the speaker.

Bruce pressed his foot against the pedal, as a thunderous vibration came up from under the tumbler. It wasn't as loud as if they had been on the outside, but it was enough for Emily to grab onto the handrail beside her. Emily looked over at Bruce, almost imagining his handsome features being covered by a mask as he would drive around in the beast of a vehicle every night. It nearly seemed impossible that the smiling face looking back at her could be the same man.

"That's awesome!" she exclaimed, as the engine settled once again. "I can see how you can get a thrill in riding in this thing. It makes you feel alive."

"It does," he agreed, somewhat soberly but he still maintained his smile at seeing her excitement.

"Thank you, Bruce," she said, turning towards him. He stopped, skipping a beat.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For calling me Bruce," he replied. "I think that's the first time that you've called me by name."

Emily smiled, feeling the awkwardness fill the vehicle. With an uncomfortable sigh, Bruce pressed a button allowing the rooftop to open once again. He helped her out and then back down onto the ground.

"Am I to take Miss Tucker home?" Alfred asked, seeing Bruce and Emily walk back towards him. Bruce looked from Alfred to Emily.

"I can, if that's all right with you, Emily?"

She shrugged. "I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience."

Bruce picked up his helmet and tossed it to her. She barely caught it in her arms. He walked into a back storage room and came out with a second helmet in his hands.

"Not an inconvenience. Let's go," he said, as he walked towards the yamaha motor bike sitting on the platform. Emily said goodbye to Alfred before walking over to the bike. She pulled the helmet over her head, and struggled with the strap that was loose under her neck. Bruce reached forward and pulled it tighter.

"Can you hear me?"

She heard his words coming directly into her ears. Emily nodded.

"You can answer and I'll hear you," Bruce said with a smile.

"I'm not used to this kind of thing," she said, zipping up her winter coat. She watched as Bruce climbed and straddled the bike. With a second of hesitation, she climbed on behind him. The platform began to raise them up as Bruce turned on the bike.

"Ready?" he asked.

Emily pulled her feet up and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"Ready."

Bruce took off through the shipping yards and onto the streets, conscious of the woman holding onto him. As he came up to a red light, he put his foot down.

"You don't need to hold on so tightly," he said, turning his head slightly towards her

Emily relaxed slightly and loosened her grip as Bruce began to go once again. He weaved in and around the traffic.

"It's been a while since I've rode on the back of someone's bike," she told him. "Let's just say that the last time wasn't a pleasant run."

She heard Bruce chuckle in his ear as he turned a corner. "Let me know if I go too fast. I have a tendency to do that."

This time it was Emily's turn to laugh. "I'm sure you would."

Bruce turned his head as they passed Wayne Tower nearing the heavy traffic in the downtown district. It actually got the point where he had to stop once again. He could feel the warmth of Emily's body finally reaching down to the skin on his back. He couldn't remember a time when he had a woman on the back of his bike. Rachel hated them.

He looked down for a moment, seeing her hands holding tightly to his coat near the zipper. Her fingers were bright red.

"Are you cold?"

"I'm fine," she replied, almost too quickly.

Emily thought for a bit while she watched the buildings pass by them. For some reason, Michael's words came back to memory as she held onto Bruce. She could hear his voice in her mind, begging her to ask him. They were beginning to torment her until she finally had enough nerve and guts to speak.

"Bruce?"

"Yeah?"

She took a deep breath. Emily only hoped that Bruce wouldn't have noticed her anxiety at the moment. She figured it was better to ask when she couldn't face him anyways.

"I have a pair of tickets to go see a play, it's a musical actually that a friend of mine is playing in this Saturday night," she began, her fingers moving slightly as they fidgeted. Bruce noticed the change. "It's Pirates of Penzance that is being put on at a small theatre on the other side of town. Would you be interested?"

Bruce knew what she was doing. Far too often he had been invited to various functions, most of which he accepted. This was the exception.

"I'd love to go," he said, gently. "But I have a prior engagement that night with someone else."

"Oh, of course. I should have assumed that you would be busy. That's fine. I'm sure that I'll find another person to go with."

"I'm sure that you will."

An unfamiliar pang filled her chest while she held onto him. _What was that? Disappointment? Jealousy?_ At that point, she was glad that his back was towards her. She wasn't liking the feelings that were washing over her. _What's going on_?

At the end of their ride, Bruce pulled up the bike alongside the curb beside her apartment. Emily climbed off and pulled the helmet from her head, putting a smile on her face.

"Thank you again for the ride, Bruce," she said, handing him the helmet just as she turned to walk up the stairs.

"I'll see you on Sunday," Bruce called out, lifting the helmet visor for a moment.

She nodded and smiled as she heard him race off down the street, his bike echoing long after he disappeared.

_Damn it._

She should have known that he wouldn't have said yes.

_What am I thinking? He's Bruce Wayne, for crying out loud!_

"Who was that?"

Emily looked up at the visitor sitting on the steps outside of her apartment. Michael. He had a large smile plastered on his face.

"And here I thought you were trying to make me feel bad for you for not having a boyfriend."

She stepped around him as he stood up and opened her door.

"He's not my boyfriend," she told him, closing the door behind them. "He just gave me a ride home."

She pulled off her shoes and hung up her coat, dropping her keys into the basket by the door as Freddie slinked his way towards her.

"Yeah, you're a little late coming home," Michael commented, watching her pick up the cat. "I was beginning to worry."

She turned and plastered a smile on her face. "I'm fine."

Realizing that something was up that she clearly didn't want to volunteer information about, Michael nodded as he reached into his pocket. As much as he knew she probably didn't want him to venture into her life, he couldn't help it. She was the closest thing to a sister that he ever had.

"Maybe you can ask that guy to go with you to see my play." He held out the pair of tickets to her. "I was going to leave them at the box office but I wanted to get them right into your hand so you don't have an excuse not to come."

Emily smiled, taking the tickets. "I wouldn't have made an excuse. I'm looking forward to it. And, if you're wondering, I already asked him and he's busy that night."

Michael shrugged.

"Plans could change."

Emily shook her head. "We're too different. It wouldn't work out anyways so it's just as well. I'm okay with it."

He looked into her eyes and squinted.

"Are you? You don't seem too all right with it all."

Emily quickly turned around, dropping the cat down to the floor before walking towards her bedroom. "I'm going to have to be so that's it. I'm going to bed so if you're sticking around, keep quiet or lock the door on your way out if you're heading out."

Michael sighed watching Emily walk from her bedroom and into the bathroom. "I'm heading out!" he called out as she closed the door. "And I'll lock the door on my way. But I'm leaving the dead bolt for you. Remember to lock it after you get out of the shower!"

He didn't hear Emily call back but instead heard the water in the shower turn on.

"If anyone can break through that thick wall of yours Emily, hopefully that guy can," Michael said, softly before he left the apartment.

* * *

Alfred heard the door close, echoing throughout the large house followed by the footsteps up the stairs. He walked out of the bedroom in time to find Bruce coming down the hallway towards him.

"I find it odd that although you left long before I did, you still managed to come in later than I," Alfred commented as Bruce passed him and walked into his room. The curtains were already drawn and the bed ready for sleep.

"I had some thinking to do, so I took the scenic route home," he said, pulling off his shirt before walking into the ensuite bathroom.

Alfred watched him. He was concerned. "Is everything all right, sir?"

He heard the tap water run and he stood by the door.

"She asked me to a play and I had to say no."

"Who? Miss Tucker?"

"Yeah," Bruce replied, splashing the water over his face.

"Why did you say no?"

"I have to," he replied, walking back out of the bathroom, proceeding to get changed into clothing to wear to bed. "I can't get any closer to her than I already am. It could put her in danger and I can't do that to her."

"How is going to see a play going to do that?"

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, almost not wanting to admit it. "I'm afraid that I'm starting to develop feelings for her and I can't let that happen."

Alfred smiled for a brief moment before he covered it. "It's been a long time since you've cared for someone. There is nothing wrong with it. You need a friend that knows about you and Batman and Emily could be that friend."

He turned off the bathroom light, bringing darkness into the bedroom, except from the light in the hall. "I would suggest that you go to this play with her, enjoy yourself and get to know her. It would probably do you some good to be yourself for once."

As Bruce climbed into bed, Alfred closed the bedroom door and walked back down the hallway, a smirk appearing on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday April 10th

Emily leaned against the theatre's floor to ceiling window, overlooking the street below. She watched as dozens of patrons quickly rushed into the building, smiles on their faces as they were trying to dodge the rain that had set in over the city that night. Emily glanced down at her watch before looking back out the window. She was beginning to wonder if asking Bill to join her was a great idea. She wasn't interested in starting up their relationship once again but Emily was concerned that he may think otherwise. Emily had purposely mentioned twice that they would be going as friends, hoping that Bill would get the idea.

When she saw the familiar mop of blond hair racing from a cab, she walked over to the top of the balcony staircase, and waited. He came up the steps a short moment later, his jacket and hair wet. He was out of breath from rushing in and he shook the water off of his gray jacket before running his hand through his hair. Bill smiled, seeing her face.

"I'm so sorry that I'm late. With this weather, it seems that everyone is getting a cab tonight."

"That's fine," she said, putting a smile on her face. "I haven't been waiting long."

Bill looked around the upper lobby, seeing the people standing around with drinks in their hands waiting for the curtain call. He turned and looked back at her, taking in her appearance. It had been a while since he had seen her with her hair down. It was something that he liked most about her. She had it pulled back slightly, drawing the attention to her blue eyes.

"You look great," he said, noting her dark blue jeans, her open black peacoat revealing the purple ruffled blouse beneath it and black boots.

She thanked him with a smile as an uncomfortable silence fell between them. Emily wondered if Bill felt the awkwardness of their situation or if it was only her.

"Seems like we have a little bit of time before the play begins," he said. "Would you like a drink?"

Emily rarely drank anymore. She wasn't sure if it was because of her shift and lack of social life or just preferrence. Tonight would be an exception. She was feeling the need for a good drink.

"A gin and tonic? No lemon though."

Bill nodded and smirked. "Be right back."

She watched him head towards the busy bar before she turned to look back out the window. Emily crossed her arms in front of her as she watched the cars stop and go at the streetlight below, their headlights glistening off the puddles and falling rain.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught her attention. Rather than turning around, she looked into the window and saw the reflection of the room in front of her.

A man stood a few feet behind her, dressed in a 2-piece suit with his hands shoved into his pockets. It took her a moment to recognize who it was until she saw the well-coifed hair and the smile on his face.

She turned around and smirked.

"I thought that you were busy tonight," she said, with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Bruce nodded and motioned towards the bar. Emily followed his gaze to where two long legged blond haired women stood at the bar, each with a martini in their hands.

"They're visiting Gotham and they wanted to experience some culture within the city," he said.

"So, naturally you thought to come here."

Bruce shrugged.

"You told me about this play and I assumed that it must be good if it's something you were wanting to see," he said. "You don't seem the type that would want to waste their time with something."

She was about to speak when she noticed Bill walked past Bruce, seemingly oblivious to his presence and handed her the glass with a small lime along the rim.

"You said that you didn't want a lemon, so I hope that you're okay with lime," he said, as Emily slipped the smile back on her face and nodded while softly thanking him.

Bill took a sip from his own glass when he noticed the man standing a few feet from Emily. She watched as Bill simply stared, as though he was trying to figure out how he knew the man in front of him.

"Bill, this is Bruce Wayne," Emily finally said. "Mister Wayne, this is Bill Dravis."

Bill swallowed his drink and extended his hand towards Bruce. "Doctor Bill Dravis actually. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Bruce shook his hand and nodded as the two women walked up beside Bruce. Emily felt her height suddenly shrink as they both stood as tall as Bruce and were far thinner than she had ever been in her lifetime.

Bill looked between Bruce and Emily, trying to figure out the conversation that had occurred prior to his appearance.

"Dr. Tucker was just explaining to me what you do at your office," Bruce said, catching Emily's eye for a brief moment. "I was considering giving you a financial endowment but Dr. Tucker refused."

Bill looked at Emily, appearing as shocked as Emily, although she could see a playful glint in the billionaire's eye knowing that he was up to something.

"She suggested a fundraiser where perhaps other benefactors may be interested in supporting the Westview clinic."

"You did?" Bill asked in astonishment as he looked at Emily.

Unable to know whether she'd say the right thing or not, she simply nodded. Bruce reached into his pocket and took out his wallet before pulling a card from the folds. He handed it to Bill.

"Give my secretary a call and she should be able to set up a meeting to discuss the details," Bruce said.

Bill looked down at the business card.

"Thank you," Bill said. "Thank you ver much."

Bruce smiled, before he wrapped an arm around the waist of each model on either side of him.

"Enjoy the show tonight," he said, before walking away from the couple.

Bill and Emily watched as Bruce and the two women walked towards a private entrance to the box seats. Finally, Bill turned to Emily.

"How did you ever strike up a conversation with Bruce Wayne?"

Emily shrugged.

"I don't know. He just appeared out of nowhere."

* * *

Bruce sat in the the arm chair of the box seat with each woman sitting on either side of him as the play went on. Although he was watching the action on stage, his mind was elsewhere. His memory went back to seeing her standing with his back towards him as she looked out the window. His stomach had flipped when he saw her and he mentally reprimended himself. Bruce had sent the two women with him to get drinks so that he could go talk with Emily. Their last conversation on the back of his bike had weighed on him heavily. He couldn't help but smile when he saw her and had stood for a good few seconds watching her before he made his presence known.

Even now, he would glance up towards the balcony every so often, scanning it for the familiar woman. In the darkness of the theatre, it made it difficult until the lighting flashed bright enough that he saw her for a brief second. The light in his own eyes faded upon seeing the doctor beside her with his arm around her shoulder and a smile on Emily's face.

Unbeknownst to him, Emily would look down at him as he sat alone, with each woman an arm length on either side of him. To her, he seemed lonely. She went back to watching the play and after a few minutes, she looked back at the box where Bruce was and found his chair empty.

Emily felt her heart pound for a moment. She whispered to Bill before quietly leaving her chair and carefully made her way down the stairs in the dark. After a quiet explaination to an usher that she needed to use the washroom, she was escorted into the bright lobby. It was empty except for the bartender cleaning some glasses. Emily walked up the man.

"Did anyone walk by here?"

The bartender nodded. "The rich guy, Mr. Wayne did a minute ago or so. He went downstairs."

Emily turned and walked briskly down the spiral staircase, still not certain why she was going after him and even what she would do if she happened to catch up with the man. He was still a stranger to her. Although she knew more secrets about him than he did of her, she wanted to speak with him again.

She felt more disappointment when she realized that the lower lobby was empty as well. Emily turned and walked through the revolving door and onto the wet sidewalk. She looked in either direction, finding them nearly deserted. After resolving that he was no longer there, she turned and went back into the theatre and back to her seat.

Emily never did see Bruce again at the theatre. Only the two women who accompanied him remained in the box. Emily would glance down at them every so often during the play. They would whisper to each other before one would shrug. She could tell they were confused and frustrated. Bruce had left them high and dry.

After the play, Emily and Bill lingered by the stage door at Emily's request, waiting for Michael to come out. When she finally saw the familiar man in the shadows she ran towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You were wonderful!" she said, with a smile. "You made a very handsome scottish police constable."

Michael chuckled as he walked alongside her to the sidewalk. "Thank you. I'm so glad you came tonight. So, who was your number two for the night?"

Emily smiled sheepishly when Michael looked up to see Bill. Michael used his best acting ability and hid his shock and frustration at seeing the man that Emily brought with her. He was mentally shaking her, trying to knock some sense into the woman as he held out his hand towards Bill.

"Good to see you again," Michael said.

Bill smiled weakly, knowing Michael's disdain for him too well. Michael had always tried to be the big brother that Emily never had.

"Yeah, I'm sure it is."

Emily sighed, hoping that Michael wouldn't say anything inappropriate.

"You did a great job tonight," Bill added. "I'm glad that Emily asked me to come see the play with her."

Michael looked over at Emily. "I'm sure that she is glad as well."

She glared at Michael, daring him with her eyes to say something he'd regret. He caught the look in her eyes.

"A bunch of us are heading to the pub on Broadway in a few minutes," Michael said, looking from Bill to Emily. "You two are welcome to come along if you're interested."

Bill was about to answer, but Emily quickly jumped in. She knew that Michael was only really wanting to find out more about what was going on with her and Bill and it wasn't something she was wanting to discuss.

"Actually, Bill was just about to flag down a cab for us," she said, nodding to Bill who quickly agreed and turned to begin hailing a cab.

Michael sighed and smiled.

"Well, another time then," he said. He put his arm around Emily's neck. "And I'll talk to you later."

"I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow morning," she told him. "I need you to peek in on Freddie sometime tomorrow and then Monday morning for me."

"Where are you off to?"

"I'm heading down south to visit some friends," she said, hoping that Michael wouldn't catch the lie. It wasn't a lie entirely though, she had to admit to herself.

"It's about time that you take a relaxing time away from that clinic," Michael said softly. He wasn't meaning only the clinic and Emily knew it. "Have a good time."

Emily smiled, giving him a final hug before rushing back to the cab that Bill had hailed and was now along the curb. She slid into the open door and closed the door behind her.

"Why didn't you want to go to the pub? I would've gone if you were wanting to," he said as Bill climbed into the other seat beside her.

Emily shook her head. "I'm not in the mood for a drink."

The statement shocked Bill as he closed the door and walked around to the otherside of the cab. He climbed into the car and closed the door.

"So, where are we going?"

Emily shrugged. "Coffee or tea?"

Bill nodded and gave directions to the cab driver.

"I seem to recall that you were pretty drunk at the Christmas party three years ago," Bill said, with a smile as the cab began to drive.

Emily shrugged. "I was still going through a lot back then. I haven't touched it much since. It's not a lifestyle that I want to get back into."

Bill nodded in understanding.

Emily looked out her window as the cab pulled up to a red light and stopped. The sound of someone pounding on the drivers window caught her attention. In the darkness, she couldn't make out who it was or what was going on, but the sound of the glass breaking and a knife reaching through the broken window, slitting the throat of the driver caused her to scream. Quickly, she opened her door and nearly spilled onto the wet sidewalk with Bill right behind her.

"Run!" he cried as he grabbed her arm, and ran with her down the sidewalk, away from the cab and the armed man. They darted into an alley, hearing the sound of feet racing behind them.

"This way," Emily whispered, turning into an alcove to hide. When she glanced behind her, she saw Bill race down another alley and then into the darkness. Instead of following, she pressed herself as deep as she could into the alcove, praying that the darkness would hide her. Emily put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to calm her ragged breathing. The only sound she could hear was the slow footsteps and the rain falling onto the ground.

The footsteps stopped for a moment but then continued on down the alley. Emily finally let out the breath that she was holding and slowly peered around the corner.

A pair of glowing eyes met hers and she nearly screamed as a hand covered her mouth and an arm pulled at her body and wrapped around her.

Emily began to kick violently, trying to free herself from the grasp but she quickly calmed the moment she felt a knife pressed against her neck.

"Don't scream," the man growled into her ear as he took his hand away from her mouth. It barely sounded human. Tears came to her eyes as she could feel the man running his hand down her back and roughly over her hair before she felt him grab a handful, pull her head back with it before bringing it to his nose. She heard him inhale before letting go of her hair.

When he walked around in front of her, he began to lean in and roughly grab her head and tilted it to the side. Emily winced and whimpered slightly at the roughness as the man began to smell her neck and around her collar. She shuddered as she stood there, tears beginning to fall down her face as she choked back a sob.

Emily was beginning to mentally take herself somewhere else, praying that the assault would soon be over.

When he suddenly grabbed her face, Emily gasped and momentarily opened her eyes. She recognized the man in front of her.

"Carlos?"

The man didnt' even seem to register his name.

"Carlos, it's me, Dr. Emily," she said, her voice wavering as he held the knife within one hand as he caressed her face with the other. "You...you know me from the c...c..clinic."

Carlos leaned in and sniffed her cheek, growling deep in his throat as he did so.

"Wh...what are you doing? If you n...need help, I can help you."

She pinched her eyes shut when she felt him begin to gently rub his cheek against her own as he held her head and the cool metal of the knife pressed against her neck. With a sudden movement, she pushed him as hard as she could. He lost his balance slightly but quickly advanced at her with the knife in his hand. Emily backed up.

Suddenly, a hand was on Carlos' shoulder. The man turned and was punched in the jaw. Carlos staggered for a moment, looking darkly at the black figure in front of him. Emily felt relief knowing that Batman was there, but Carlos kept himself between Emily and Batman. Carlos swung the knife out in front of him, defending himself and ensuring that he kept himself between Emily and Batman. Batman reached out for Carlos' arm, attempting to knock the knife out of his hand. He was surprised when he realized how strong the man was. He held tight to the knife and blocked every attack.

Emily slowly backed up away from Carlos as Batman engaged him in a fight. Carlos punched Batman in the chest and then tripped him. He suddenly seemed to notice Emily getting further away from him. Suddenly, she turned and began to run at the same moment as Carlos turned towards her, leaving Batman on the ground. Emily had only gotten a short distance when Carlos caught up with her. He swung out the knife in front of him, catching her in the shoulder.

Emily felt the sting on her back at the same moment that she was pushed forward and landed on the dirty, wet pavement. She was quickly flipped over onto her back as hands were pressed onto her wrists above her head. Emily looked up at Carlos' face, as he panted.

She began to sob. Not only was she in pain, but she felt alone and desperate.

"Let me go!" she yelled at him.

Batman clenched his teeth as he stood up and raced after the man. When he saw him holding Emily down to the ground and she begin to cry out, he swiftly kicked the man in the side. Carlos quickly grabbed at his side and rolled off onto the ground beside Emily. He stood up, and backed up. It was as though a light had gone on in his brain. Carlos looked shockingly between Batman standing in front of him and the woman slowly sitting up on the ground. He recognized her and was concerned for her, but seeing Batman standing menacingly in front of him scared him. He turned and ran down the alley.

Batman turned back towards Emily. He knew that she was hurt. He hesitated, unsure of whether he should help her or go after the man.

"I'm all right! Go!" she told him. She made the decision for him. Batman merely nodded as he darted into the darkness.

Emily looked over her shoulder and reached to touch the tender spot just out of sight on her back. She gasped at the pain that it caused and saw the bright red blood on her dirty fingers. Slowly, she stood up, feeling the wetness on her coat and pants from the water on the ground. It continued to rain and she backed up against the wall, hoping that it would protect her somewhat from the water. Emily could feel the warm, sticky feeling of the blood on her back and was beginning to concern her. Finally, she let out a sigh before pressing her fingers over the cut. She quickly inhaled at the pain the pressure had caused and felt her body begin to shiver. Maybe it was worse than she thought. Without being able to see it, she wouldn't be able to know.

She gasped when figure suddenly dropped to the ground in front of her.

"Turn around," she heard Batman say deeply, yet softly. Emily continued to shake and complied silently before feeling a gloved hand gently move her hand that covered the wound. After a moment, she sucked in a breath when she felt pressure being put back on it.

Batman was concerned with her silence. In the time that he had known her, he knew that she wasn't one to keep her mouth shut for too long. Now, she had barely said a word. He took her by the shoulders.

"Emily?"

Her eyes were open, but she didn't seem to be there. He couldn't tell for certain being in the darkness of the alley, but she seemed pale. Batman could feel her body relax and he placed his hand around her back, in fear that she was about to faint.

"It's Bruce," he whispered just loud enough to hear. "I'm going to help you. Trust me."

"Am I bleeding?" she finally asked. Batman let out a sigh of relief when he heard her voice.

"You're in shock," Batman said, reaching into his belt.

Was she? Emily had been in shock once before but it didn't feel like this. Maybe it was because of blood loss.

She watched him raise his arm over his head before a device was shot into the air and attached itself to something with a clang. He secured the other end to his waist before reaching forward and wrapping his arm around Emily's waist and keeping the other on her back.

"Hold on to me," he instructed as Emily wrapped her arms around his chest and felt the pain in her shoulder with the movement. A moment later she felt her feet leave the ground.

Emily wasn't sure if she passed out somewhere along the way but she couldn't recall how she came to be sitting in the tumbler a few minutes later.

"You didn't loose that much blood, but I'm guessing that your blood pressure dropped due to the stress and shock," Batman said, when he realized that she was consciously looking at him.

Emily nodded as she gingerly touched her shoulder, feeling a large wad of gauze between herself and the seat of the tumbler. She was surprised to find that she still had her coat on and thought that it was probably best as it was most likely acting as a large bandage.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Batman nodded. "Be glad that I was in the area."

Emily suddenly became more alert. "Bill was with me."

Batman shook his head. "I didn't see him."

"He must have gotten away. Did you get the guy?" she asked.

"No," Batman replied, glancing over at her. "You know him."

Emily nodded solemnly and let out a shaky sigh. "He's a client of mine from the clinic. He's a kind and gentle man. I just don't...I don't know why he would do something like this."

"He seemed to change just before he ran off," Batman said, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of them.

Emily turned and looked out the window. She noticed that they were no longer in the city and were passing trees. "Where are we going?"

As she looked ahead, she saw the curtain of water wash over them before the Tumbler came to a stop inside of a cave. Emily looked up as the roof retracted. Bats screached in protest at the disturbance. She turned and saw Batman holding a hand out to her. Carefully, she took his hand and grabbed the gauze before she slid down the side of the tumbler. She pressed it against her shoulder once again before she followed Batman.

"Where are we?"

"Under Wayne Manor," he replied, as he walked up a slope towards a table. Emily noticed that his voice was different.

"Miss Tucker!" Alfred exclaimed as he walked towards them. He seemed surprised and looked between Batman and Emily. He noticed the woman with her hair in disarray and her clothing dirty as she held a piece of gauze on her shoulder. He quickly approached her.

"When Master Bruce said that he would be needing my assistance, I never dreamed that it would be for you. Are you all right?"

Emily nodded, removing the gauze from her back as Alfred slipped his glasses over his eyes. He noticed the large cut through the fabric of her coat and the dried blood around it.

"Have a seat right here on the stool and I'll get some supplies," he said, before disappearing into another room.

Emily sat down and looked over at Batman as he stood in front of a computer and noticed that he had long abandonned the cowl. She was merely looking at Bruce Wayne with kevlar and a cape. She began to slowly pull off her coat.

"What was the man's name?" he suddenly asked, as he walked towards her.

"Carlos," she replied. "We don't ask for last names or addresses, as you already know."

He reached out and helped her pull her right arm out of her coat, seeing the blood stained blouse for the first time. Alfred returned and winced at the sight of her back.

"Alfred, she's going to need some clean clothes," Bruce said, taking the supplies out of Alfred's hands. "I'll take care of her back."

Alfred leaned in, speaking softer. "Are you sure sir? I can take care of it."

"No Alfred," Bruce said sofly. "It's all right. I can do it."

Emily glanced over her shoulder as she undid the few buttons on her blouse, thankful that she had decided to wear a camisole that evening. She watched the men speak softly between themselves before Alfred walked away and Bruce walked towards her.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that you've given yourself stitches once or twice," she said with a smirk, as she pulled her good arm out of her blouse.

Bruce smiled as he sorted through the supplies that Alfred had placed on the table beside Emily. "Never on someone else though."

Emily nodded as she felt Bruce help her pull the blouse off her back, feeling the dried blood stick the fabric to her skin. She took a deep breath as the blouse came off. Finally, she relaxed again as she felt Bruce's warm fingers touch her shoulder around the edges of the wound.

"I've never given myself stitches before," Emily commented as she felt the coolness and then a slight sting of peroxide. She turned her head and tried to look over her shoulder. "How bad is it?"

"It's not too deep," Bruce replied, as he pulled up a stool and sat behind her. "But it's a good few inches. It'll be easy to fix and quick to heal."

Emily nodded, turning her head forward again as Bruce prepared to stitch up her shoulder.

He glanced at her damp brown hair sticking to her back. Gently, he pushed her hair over her opposite shoulder and out of the way before placing the first stitch.

She felt the pinch of the needle, flinched slightly and then felt a hand rest against the skin on her other shoulder.

"Relax," Bruce told her, his soft voice tickling her ear. The way he spoke was enough to send chills down her back. She mentally shook it off.

Emily nodded in agreement before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes while trying to relax her shoulder.

"So, what made you decide to work at the Westview clinic?"

Emily had to chuckle but managed to keep herself as still as possible. "Trying to take my mind off of what you're doing to me back there?"

"That, and to create conversation," Bruce said, tying off his first stitch. "So, what made you want to work there?"

"It was an easy decision," she said. "I enjoy helping people and the low income families of Gotham have been neglected by the society. It isn't fair. A lot of the clients that come in are drug addicts, suffering from various kinds of abuse, but there are others that were just not so lucky when it came to getting the best jobs in the city. They can't afford decent medical care."

"That area of town certainly isn't a safe place to work," Bruce commented. "Why not work at Dent Memorial hospital? Everything in that new building is state of the art and filled with the newest technology."

Emily smiled, somehow knowing that the conversation would eventually shift that way. She was almost waiting for it. She knew that she would have to trust him as much as he trusted her.

"I prefer to work there over the new hospital. Besides, I used to work at Gotham General."

"You did?"

"I was working in the ER department in triage when Harvey Dent was brought in a few years back during the whole Joker drama in the city," she explained, her voice becoming softer. "That was the last time that I worked in a hospital. I could never go back after what happened."

She felt the sting once again of another needle penetrating her skin. This time she didn't move.

Bruce didn't speak, recounting the memories of that day in his own mind. Seeing Rachel's face smile at him in his memory and hearing her soft voice speak his name.

Emily took a deep breath.

"I was one of the hostages in the Pruett building."

The memory disappeared as he quickly digested Emily's statement.

"The Pruett building where Joker was holding hostages? You were there?"

Images of that night flashed through Bruce's mind of when he saw the doctors and nurses shaking with guns taped between their hands and clown masks over their faces. The innocent were being targetted by the SWAT teams and none of them were able to speak to tell them. An anger was beginning to build up inside of him just as it did that night years ago. He glared at the cut on her back, yet was gentle against her skin as he continued to sew up the cut.

Emily smiled weakly.

"It's not something that I like to talk about," she stated, looking down at her hands in her lap. "After many failed attempts of talking with a therapist regarding my PTSD and recurring nightmares, I resigned my position with the hospital and took the job at Westview Clinic."

Bruce was silent after she spoke. He had never met someone personally who had been directly affected by something he had experienced. He also didn't think of her as someone who would quit and give up so easily. He thought of what she must have gone through.

"Do you still have nightmares?"

His voice was barely audible.

Emily paused for a moment before she shook her head. "Not very often."

A lie. Bruce could hear it in her voice.

She heard him sigh. "I'm sorry."

Emily turned enough to see him sitting on a stool behind her. She had no idea of the emotions that he was battling at that moment. Dressed in armour that made him a formidable warrior and he was brought down with a simple memory. She watched him reach for the premoistened disinfectant pads.

"It is not your fault," she said. "You can't help everyone all the time. You saved a lot of people that day; more than you'll probably ever know. There's nothing to be sorry about."

"People did die that day because of me," he stated, standing up and walked around her to get behind her to dab carefully around the stitches. "Important people."

Bruce was trying to ignore the woman but her stubborn persistence was making him angry.

"That was years ago. It's done and over with. You need to let go of the past," she argued, spinning around to face him standing in front of him. "Why are you still punishing yourself?"

"Because I let it happen!" he growled loudly at her, his voice echoing in the cave. A few bats screached at the sudden raise in volume.

The sound of someone clearing their throat broke the conversation. Bruce looked over at Alfred to find the older man glaring back at him. Bruce turned back towards the computer monitor as Alfred walked towards Emily. He smiled apologetically at the woman as he handed her a folded t-shirt and jogging pants.

"I hope that these will be all right," Alfred said.

"They are, thank you," she said, her voice weaker than he had ever heard it. She looked over at Bruce who was in the process of pulling the cowl back over his head. It appeared to Emily that Bruce wouldn't be in the mood to speak with her. Emily turned back to Alfred. "Would I be able to get a ride home?"

"Of course, miss," Alfred replied, glancing back at Bruce as the man walked away from them towards the Tumbler, appearing to not hear their conversation or perhaps not wanting to hear it. Alfred spoke a little louder, enough so that Bruce could hear him.

"But perhaps you could just stay here for the night. It would save you on time in the morning and you could have assistance in changing the bandages on your back."

Emily smiled weakly before turning to see Batman by the tumbler.

"I don't think it's a good idea," she said wincing slightly. The last thing she wanted was to get on Batman's bad side and then be an uninvited guest in his home.

"Nonesense!" Alfred said, making the decision as it was clear to him that Bruce was stubborn enough to let his pride speak for him. "I'll set up a guest room for you and you can have a nice warm shower before you get some rest."

"I have 2 bags packed for tomorrow back at my apartment," she said softly.

Alfred looked over at Batman as he climbed into the Tumbler. "Sir, could you please pick up Miss Tucker's bags at her apartment?"

Batman never answered but instead the Tumbler roared to life before disappearing from the cave.


	5. Chapter 5

This one is slightly shorter than what I've been doing but it was done and I wanted to get it out before the weekend was over. Thank you to those who have put this story on their alerts and favourite lists. Please let me know what you think thus far. I have some plans for Emily and Bruce and I'm beginning to like the dynamic between the two.

* * *

Another one.

Jim Gordon was not having a good month. This time, the victim appeared older. But just like the other homicides, there was that gray substance on the fingers.

Jim stood up from where he had been crouching over the dead body and ran a hand over his tired face. Suddenly, that black figure was standing in front of him.

"His name is Carlos," Batman simply said, as Jim quickly looked around realizing that there were no other cops in the direct vicinity at that time. "He was involved in an attempted assault earlier tonight. You may want to do a blood analysis on this guy," Batman said, getting right to the point with the commissioner. Batman crouched down beside the body and pulled out a small syringe.

"Why?"

"His behaviour was unusual," Batman replied, looking down at Carlos as he drew blood from the dead man's arm. Finally, he stood back up and pocketed the small vile. "Was there a cause of death?"

Gordon shrugged, looking down at the body on the ground. "Nothing that looks obvious. No stab or gunshot wounds. Overdose perhaps, especially if you're saying that he was acting unusual."

Gordon turned to find that Batman once again was gone. At least this time he left with a little bit more infomation than what the police force had been running with for the past month.

* * *

Emily lay in bed, feeling the soft sheets against her cheek. She had just got off her cell phone with Bill who was near frantic. The man had continued to run until he was out of breath and found himself near the docks. Bill had apologized numerous times saying that he thought that she was still behind him. He told her that he'd make it up to her when she gets back from vacation with a trip to the coffee house they intended to visit. Emily was ready to refuse, but knowing how the man was most likely upset and it was his way of helping, she accepted.

It was now nearly 3:30am and after a nice warm shower, Emily was finally feeling sleep come to her. She still felt slightly uncomfortable; not only about staying in Bruce Wayne's home when it appeared that he didn't want her to be there but also because she was wearing his clothes. She laid on her stomach, as she remembered the words that Alfred had told her as he led her through the halls of Wayne Manor.

_"You need to forgive Master Wayne for his outburst," Alfred had said. "He had lost someone very dear to him that day."_

_"That's not an excuse."_

_Alfred nodded. "Perhaps not, but he's still angry with himself and most likely hasn't forgiven himself for it."_

_"Who was it that he lost?"_

_"Rachel Dawes. She was the assistant district attorney and Harvey Dent's girlfriend."_

_He saw Emily's face appear confused._

_"I shouldn't say anything about it as it is Bruce's business, but Rachel had been his best and closest friend since they were children. She was around when his mother and father were killed."_

_Emily nodded, appearing to understand._

_"We've all lost someone in our life," she explained. "But that's not a reason to hold on to them so much that you hold yourself responsible for their deaths. He needs to move on."_

_"He will," Alfred said, pulling back the sheets in the bed. "He needs to be the one to decide when it's time."_

Emily looked towards the windows as she laid in the bed and closed her eyes. She was already asleep when the door slowly opened.

Bruce looked in and saw the Emily in bed, her head turned away from the door. He watched her back rise and fall with each breath indicating that she was most likely asleep. Still, he quietly walked in and placed the two bags on the floor by the side of the bed. The room smelled of lavender and flowers. It was an unusual scent for Wayne Manor. He was about to leave but stopped to see that her eyes were indeed closed as he had thought that they would be. He let out a soft sight as he ran his hand through his hair. Bruce was hoping that he could at least apologize for his behaviour in the cave earlier. Batman needed as many allies that he could get and Emily was one that he wasn't wanting to push away. Finally, he turned before walking slowly to the door and gently closed it behind him.

* * *

Sunday, April 11th

Morning came too soon for Emily. She knew the moment that she woke that she didn't get enough sleep.

She was awake enough that morning to get herself dressed in the attire that she had tried on a few days prior and managed to fix her hair into a sophisticated bun. Her shoulder muscle cried out as she quickly did her hair and was thankful for the pain killers and muscle relaxants that Alfred had served her with breakfast. Alfred had also assisted her in changing the bandage on her back, noting that it was barely bleeding anymore and appeared to be healing well.

Nearly 2 hours later and she was standing on the tarmac beside a private plane that was in the process of going through a pre-flight checklist, for the second time.

Bruce Wayne was late.

In fact, Emily hadn't even seen him at Wayne Manor that morning and Alfred had only commented to her saying that he had some things to get done before they left.

She sighed, and smiled as Alfred walked up beside her.

"He's on his way," Alfred told her, pocketing the cell phone. A thought suddenly came to him and he quickly riffled through his pocket and pulled out an ID card. "Oh, and Master Wayne asked me to give this to you. It makes it look more official."

Emily flipped it over, seeing her face on it with the name, Bethany Morris.

Alfred seemed to hear her questioning eyes and answered the question she was thinking.

"Master Bruce thought it would be best if we didn't use your real name," Alfred said softly.

She clipped it to the blouse beneath her jacket as a Lambourghini pulled up onto the tarmac, in front of the jet. Emily watched as Alfred stepped forward and opened Bruce's door allowing the man to step out as three flight attendants made their way down the ramp to load any additional baggage. Bruce pulled down his sunglasses over his eyes and walked around the car, not even bothering to cast a glance at Emily before reaching inside the passenger seat to pull out two leggy models, each standing an inch taller than him.

Emily gulped, realizing that they were the same women that he was with the day prior at the theatre. She adjusted the glasses on her nose, hoping that they wouldn't recognize her. The women walked right past her towards the stairs talking and giggling between themselves. Bruce followed as Alfred instructed the attendants on who's luggage belonged to whom.

"Sorry I'm late," Bruce announced aloud as he made his way to the steps with one model on either side of him. "These ladies kept me a little preoccupied this morning."

Each of them giggled beside him before he let them go to make their way up the stairs to the plane. Emily watched as he followed behind them. She took a deep breath and walked up behind Alfred.

* * *

Emily gripped the hand rests beside her as she sat in the plane. The flight was a little more turbulent than expected, causing the plane to jostle more than once. Emily felt her stomach flip each time the plane lurched in a certain direction. A few rows ahead of them, Emily could see the tops of the models heads with Bruce's brown hair between them. Every so often, she'd hear them giggle followed by Bruce's voice. Alfred looked with concern from where he sat across from her. He leaned over.

"Are you all right?"

She took a deep breath.

"I don't like heights but I'm usually okay with airplanes. I'm just not certain what is making me feel more nauseous; the rocking of the plane or the annoying school-girl giggles of those airheads a few rows away."

Alfred smirked, and shrugged.

"We will be landing in about an hour or so, and Master Wayne has informed me that we'll be making a stop in Key West to drop off the two ladies."

Emily smiled.

"They're starting to drive me a little crazy as well," Alfred added with a chuckle.

Emily once again glanced ahead but this time she caught the eye of one of the models. She quickly looked down but a moment later, she could see that same model sitting up higher and gesturing for her to come over with her finger.

"What do they want?" Emily asked, more than slightly annoyed.

Alfred watched Emily stand up when he realized that one of the models was trying to get her attention. He knew too well that these type of women could be ruthless to the other ladies in Bruce's employ.

"Just be polite," Alfred suggested. "If you're not a threat to them, they'll leave you alone."

She let out a sigh as she mumbled sarcastically, "Great, I'm in high school again."

Emily walked down the aisle, using each passing seat to keep her balance. She smiled sweetly.

"Can I help you?"

Bruce looked up with his arms around the models shoulders on either side of him. He seemed surprised to see her.

"Yes, Bethany Morris," the model slurred in her Eastern Europe accent, straining to read the name on Emily's ID card. "We would like drink."

Emily's eyes narrowed. "You already appear intoxicated. Why would you want another?"

"I want my drink," she restated, leaning forward. "Right now."

The plane rocked slightly and Emily gripped the top of the seat a little harder. Her stomach literally flipped on her.

"Just get her the drink, okay?" Bruce said firmly with a flirtatious smile.

Emily realized it was all part of his persona, but she was too busy concentrating on holding her stomach to argue with the man.

"Wha...What kind of drink?"

Emily swallowed.

"A martini with 2 olives," the model said, holding up two fingers.

"Make that two," the other model added. "Two martini's, not two olives."

Emily nodded, feeling another wave of nausea sweep over her. She could barely hear the model's speaking.

"On second thought. Make mine with only one olive."

The airplane lunged again and this time, Emily's stomach had enough. She quickly put a hand to her mouth before turning to run towards the bathroom near the back of the plane and slammed the door behind her.

Both models seemed confused as Bruce sat up slightly to see what had just happened.

"I'll get us those drinks," he said, slinking his way out from his seat. He walked towards the back of the plane to find Alfred already at the door, attempting to get Emily to open it for him.

He put his hand on Alfred's shoulder, getting the older man's attention.

"Can you get them their drinks? Maybe then they'll shut up for the rest of the flight so we can all get some rest," Bruce said softly.

Alfred smirked. "Yes sir."

Bruce leaned in to the door and gently knocked on it.

"What?" he heard Emily's voice call out weakly.

"Let me help you," he said softly. Emily paused.

Bruce could almost hear her roll her eyes from behind the bathroom door.

"I don't need your help Bruce and frankly, I don't want it."

Alfred walked past Bruce with the two martini's on a platter before he discreetly passed him a syringe with a smile.

Bruce took the syringe and put it in his pocket.

"I have something that can help if you just let me in," he said. After a few seconds, he heard the door unlock. He proceeded to open the door and found Emily sitting very unladylike on the floor beside the toilet, with her head resting in her hands. She didn't even look up when he closed the door behind him.

Her face was white as a sheet. She had abandonned her glasses to the counter. She didn't appear impressed to see him within the small, confined space with her, but she wasn't in the mood to argue.

Without saying a word, Bruce reached over into the small cupboard behind the door and pulled out a small washcloth. He turned on the water in the sink and rang it out before crouching down beside her to place the cool cloth on her neck.

"Thank you," he heard her say softly.

Emily took a deep breath to steady her stomach, and inhaled a unique scent. She assumed it was Bruce's cologne. It smelled nice.

"I have something else that will help," Bruce said, standing up slightly to pull the syringe out of his pocket.

Emily glanced over at him when he crouched back down beside her.

"An antinauseant," he told her.

Without saying another word, she held out her arm. With a small smile, he gave her the injection. "Give it a good few minutes to kick in. You'll be feeling much better then."

She nodded and sighed.

Bruce considered leaving the bathroom, but he didn't want to; not yet.

"Emily, I want to apologize for how I spoke to you last night," he said, softly, turning the cool washcloth over on her neck. "You were only trying to help and I shouldn't have yelled at you the way that I did."

Emily shook her head.

"It's all right," she told him, as she pushed herself up to stand. Bruce stood up beside her. Finding the room awefully cramped, Emily stepped back from Bruce as much as she could in the small space. "I shouldn't have said those things. It was uncalled for and was not my place to say them to you."

Bruce smirked before reaching towards the sink where she had left her glasses. He gently picked them up and handed them to her.

Emily turned to the mirror and put them on as she looked at her reflection. A few strands of hair had fallen down and she carefully tucked them back up.

Suddenly, the plane rocked slightly and Emily placed both her hands on either side of the sink, steadying not only herself but her stomach. She felt the washcloth on her neck once again and Emily looked up in the mirror to see Bruce standing directly behind her.

"I'm okay," she told him, as she took a deep breath. "I think the medication is starting to kick in."

The door clicked and opened, revealing Alfred at the door. He looked from Emily standing at the sink to Bruce right behind her.

"The pilot has suggested that everyone takes their seats," Alfred told them. "He says that there is some rough weather over the panhandle and the northern part of the state that we're flying through." He turned to Bruce. "And your guests are wondering when you'd be joining them again."

Although he smiled, Emily was certain that she heard Bruce groan as he stepped out of the bathroom and made his way back to the two models. Emily left the washcloth on the counter and walked with Alfred back to their seats. She barely casted a glance at the models as she walked past them, but noticed that their martini glasses were empty.

* * *

Bruce stepped out of the doorway of the plane, and enjoyed the warm breeze hitting his face. He watched as a dark vehicle drove up to where the plane sat at the Key West airport. Bruce turned to the two women behind him. They both staggered somewhat as they each gave Bruce a kiss on his cheek before slowly making their way down the steps to the ground. Bruce winced inwardly a few times, watching them nearly miss a step. His goal of getting them drunk enough to keep quiet had succeeded. He assumed that they most likely wouldn't remember much of their trip to the island.

A few minutes later, and the car was pulling away from the plane. Bruce smirked as another car pulled up onto the tarmac and stopped beside the plane. He ducked back into the plane and walked towards Alfred as the older man met him by the door.

"I haven't mentioned our change of plans to Miss Tucker," Alfred said softly.

Bruce glanced over Alfred's shoulder seeing the woman looking down at a magazine in her hands. He noticed the wires coming from her ears and followed the trail to a small mp3 player sitting in the chair beside her.

Emily looked up for a moment towards the front of the plane where Alfred and Bruce were talking. The models were gone and she was beginning to wonder when they'd be heading back to Miami. When she looked back up from her magazine, she saw Bruce walking towards her. She pulled out the ear buds.

"There has been a slight change of plans," he said, with a smile on his face. "We're going to be staying here for the day and we'll fly back to Miami tonight."

Emily sat up straighter in her seat as a smile grew on her face. "Really? You're serious?"

Bruce grinned as he nodded. "I thought that it would be a nice surprise and you'll have the chance to get that vacation that you haven't had in a long time."

Emily stood up, resisting the urge to joyfully hug the man. To say that she was excited was an understatement. She looked out the window, seeing the palm trees swaying slightly in the breeze and the warm sun heating up the island.

"I have a yacht waiting for us at the docks," he said as she followed him towards the front of the plane. "You'll be able to spend the entire day in the sunshine if you'd like."

Emily shook her head in amazement as they walked down the steps, finding Alfred already at the bottom ensuring that the luggage that they would be needing was being loaded into the trunk of the car.

She quickly rushed up next to Bruce, matching his stride as he walked towards the car.

"I really appreciate it, but you don't have to do this," she said. Bruce stopped and turned to face her, his hands in his pockets. "It was never a part of the agreement."

He smiled and extended his hand towards her. She looked quizzedly as his outstretched hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Making an amendment to our agreement," he said. "Let's shake on it."

Emily took a deep breath. "I don't want you to feel obligated."

Bruce shook his head, still keeping his hand out towards her.

"I don't," he said, glancing down at his waiting hand before looking back up at her face. "Besides, knowing the man that you'll be meeting at tomorrow's meeting, you'll deserve this."

Emily paused, looking at his hand as though it may bite. From as far back as she could remember, Emily disliked being offerred favours and gifts that she would never be able to repay, and this one, she knew she couldn't.

Bruce leaned in towards her and then looked down at his waiting hand. "Don't leave me hanging. Do we have a deal?"

Emily chuckled before taking his hand.

"Deal," she finally said, as Bruce smiled.

"We're ready to go now sir," Alfred announced from the car.

Bruce let go of Emily's hand before walking towards Alfred. Emily shook the feeling that washed over her as Bruce released her hand. She could still feel the warmth from his grip long after he let go. It was a firm and reassuring handshake.

"Are you coming Miss?"

Alfred broke Emily out of her daydream and she quickly nodded before heading to the car.


	6. Chapter 6

First off, thank you so much for the reviews, alerts, favourites..etc.

Thank you for the suggestions that were made within the comments. Even before they were made, I had those ideas in mind. I don't see Emily becoming a crime-fighter alongside Batman in the physical sense per-say, but certainly in other respects. She'll find her place...that is, if Bruce allows her. ;) Anyways, I have yet to see The Dark Knight Rises and I'm trying so hard to not spoil it for myself by reading reviews, commentaries...etc. With four kids, I'm not certain when I'll be able to see it. I never did see The Dark Knight until I got it for Christmas on DVD from my brother...sad, eh? I'm really hoping that it's not like that again...

Just a warning here...this is a fluff chapter. I think every story has their bit of fluff added to it and in order to get this story where I'd like it to go, we need this fluff. It'll come in handy later. :)

* * *

Alfred stood at the highest point of the yacht, holding onto the small wheel in front of him as he navigated the 30 foot boat through the bay and into the gulf. The wind picked up as they made their way into the open water. He held onto his straw sun hat as he turned them into the wind and towards their destination. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of someone climbing the steps up to the deck where he stood, Alfred glanced behind him to see Emily with two glasses in her hand.

"I thought that you might need something to drink up here," she said, setting the glass of ice and lemonade into the cupholder beside the wheel.

"Thank you very much," Alfred said with a smile on his face. He noted that Emily had changed since they had stepped onto the large boat. No longer was her hair up in the tight bun and her body forced into the attire of a woman in Bruce's employ. She was barefoot with a white beach coverup wrapped around her torso. Two blue straps from the bathingsuit hidden beneath were tied at her neck. Her hair was lightly pulled back, yet the wind was able to catch the few strands that rebelled.

"I've never been this far south before," Emily commented. "The furthest down into Florida that I've been was Disney World and that was when I was 8. I had no idea that the Keys looked like this."

Alfred smiled, taking a drink of lemonade.

"Just wait until you see where I'm taking us," Alfred said, with a wink.

Emily grinned. She had to admit that she was excited.

"I may need your help with the anchor when we arrive."

"Where is Bruce?"

"He's on a business call," Alfred replied. "He said it would only take a few minutes, but he's been below deck since we left the dock."

Emily saw the chairs lined up on the deck in front of them.

"I'm going to get some sun in the meantime," she told him, as she made her way out to the lounge chairs.

Alfred nodded. "Of course."

He watched her pull the cover up over her head and lay it out on top of the plastic chair before laying down on it. Alfred noticed the clear bandage overtop of the few stitches that sat just below her right shoulder. He had to admit that they were healing well and that the fresh air would help. Just as Emily laid down on her stomach, Alfred heard heavier footsteps coming up the stairs.

"That took longer than I thought it would," Bruce said, as he stood beside Alfred. Alfred looked over at the younger man and noticed that he was still in his suit, although the shirt was untucked and his tie had been abandonned somewhere in the yacht. He looked up to Bruce's face and followed his gaze to find his eyes resting on Emily as she laid out on the deck outside.

"I'm taking us out that outer Key you were talking about," Alfred told him, noticing that Bruce's attention was still elsewhere and most likely didn't hear him.

It had been a long time since he had seen Bruce Wayne look at a woman the way he was looking at Emily. Alfred couldn't help but smile and was glad to see that although Bruce wasn't ready to move on from the memory of Rachel, subconsciously, he already was. It was only a matter of time until he'd realized it for himself.

"I believe Emily made lemonade downstairs," Alfred said, gaining Bruce's attention once again.

Alfred could see that Bruce was confused for a moment, trying to piece together Alfred's last statement.

"Lemonade, sir."

"Yeah, I could probably use a cold drink right now anyways," Bruce said softly.

Alfred nodded and smirked just as Bruce turned to walk back down below deck.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, and Bruce made his way above deck. The sun was bright and warm. Bruce put on his sunglasses. He noticed that they were no longer out in the open water and were anchored alongside a heavily tree'd island. Numourous birds flew overhead and he could hear them singing over in the trees. He glanced down into the clear water as he walked along the side of the boat and could see the reefs far below the light waves that hit up against the boat.

He went to the chairs where Emily had once been to find Alfred relaxing in one with his eyes closed. He walked into Alfred's sun, casting a shadow over the older man and gaining his attention. Alfred put his hand up to his face.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said. "We were wondering when you would be coming back up. Emily was able to give me a hand with the anchoring." The man noticed that Bruce had changed into swim horts and a white t-shirt.

Bruce sat down beside Alfred and sighed. "I was on the phone again with Lucius."

Alfred said up, sensing that the man was troubled. "Is something wrong?"

"I gave him the blood sample from the man that had attacked Emily," Bruce said. "He hasn't been able to isolate the compounds used but he has been able to figure out that this Carlos guy was being affected by some drug that in high doses affects the frontal lobe of the brain. Although it is probably a good feeling type of drug, the person experiences aggression, loss of inhibition and memory."

"Where would somoene get a drug like that?"

"My guess is as good as yours," Bruce said, glancing around the yacht.

He realized that he couldn't see Emily anywhere.

"She's snorkling off the lower dock," Alfred told him with a smile, realizing that the billionaire was silently looking for her.

Bruce smiled his thanks and left towards the back of the boat. As he made his way down, he looked out at the water finding her snorkling a few meters off the side of the yacht. Bruce waited, knowing that she wouldn't hear him if he spoke. Finally, she he saw her put her head up.

"Find anything interesting?"

Emily turned towards the voice and smiled, pushing the mask off her face and to the top of her head.

"It's beautiful here! There are fish everywhere!"

She turned around to see a colourful fish pass far below her feet.

"I'll join you!" Bruce called out before he pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it to the side of the platform.

Emily turned back just as Bruce dove into the water, seeing the splash. She didn't see him come up to the surface right away but she could see his body slowly coming up the surface behind her.

"I think you might have scared all the fish away," Emily teased with a grin.

Bruce let out a mock laugh and looked below where she was treading water. Far below their feet lay dozens of colourful mushrooms and polyps. A few fish had made their home between the coral rocks and would swim around them. Bruce turned and looked towards the beach a good 50 feet away. Emily followed his gaze and smirked.

"I'll race you," she challenged him.

"It wouldn't be a fair race," he countered. "You have flippers on."

"Stop whinning. You literally bench press the criminals of Gotham. I think it's a pretty even match."

"Okay then," Bruce said, with a hint of playfulness in his eye. He swam up beside Emily so they were shoulder to shoulder. "On your mark, get set..."

Emily waited for the 'go' but Bruce had already took off.

"Hey!" she cried out as she swam after him, trying to avoid the splash that he was purposely making behind him. Suddenly, he dove under the water. Emily used that opportunity to get ahead of him. Unfortunately, she looked under the water to find that he had gotten quite a distance ahead of her. Within a minute, she watched him make his way out of the water and onto the beach as she was still approaching the island, out of breath. Rather than climbing all the way out of the water, she sat down in the ankle deep water, allowing the small waves to wash past her.

"Fine, you win," she said, catching her breath. She heard splashing footsteps behind her before she saw Bruce sit down in the water beside her. "But for the record, you did cheat."

"Sounds like you need some exercise," Bruce commented, hearing her trying to catch her breath.

"Running home through the rain doesn't count?"

She heard him chuckle as she pulled the flippers off her feet and took the mask that still sat on the top of her head and tossed them all behind her onto the sandy beach. Emily let out a breath and laid back onto the water and rested her head against the wet sand. She closed her eyes, feeling the warm sun on her skin. She peeked open an eye to see Bruce lay in the water beside her, letting out a sigh.

"I could stay here all day," he said, contently.

"I wouldn't mind that," Emily added. She sat up on her elbows and nudged him in the arm. "But you'd be on food patrol."

Bruce pushed up on his elbows and smiled. "And while I'm out scavenging for food on this island, what would you be doing?"

She shrugged. "Ordering pizza."

Bruce laughed. He looked back out towards the yacht sitting peacefully off the island when another boat slowly passed behind it. Bruce's smile faded.

"Emily," he said, with a hint of urgency. He was already walking out of the water. "You need to get your mask on."

Emily sat up and turned towards him, confused.

"There are photographers out there," he grumbled as he quickly walked to get her mask and tossed it back towards her. Emily quickly pulled it on and stood up in the water, making her way onto the beach towards Bruce.

He averted his eyes from her form, reminding himself that his concern at the moment were the photographers that most likely were continuing to take photo's of them. Quickly, he took Emily's hand and led her further up the beach and towards the tree line. Once they were within the cover of the bush, Emily pulled the mask off her face and looked back as the boat slowly went past the beach.

"We can't stay here all day," she said, swatting at a mosquito that decided she looked pretty tasty.

Bruce smacked a bug that landed on his skin and agreed with her.

"The sun should be setting in about an hour or so," he said, looking up at the sky. "We'll swim back out when it's dusk. They wouldn't be able to make out an image of us by then."

"What are we going to do until then?"

Bruce put his hands on his hips.

"We could explore the island," he suggested as he watched her swat another mosquito on her arm.

"While being attacked by the local bugs?"

Bruce let out a sigh. "Well, if you have any other ideas, I'm listening."

She shrugged before hitting another bug. He smirked. He could tell that she wasn't enjoying their current situation as she seemed to have bugs swarm her.

"The bugs seem to like you more than they like me," he remarked.

Emily looked up at him and scowled with a hint of a smile. "Maybe it's because I'm sweeter than you."

"Ouch," Bruce said with mocked hurt.

Bruce turned and led her through the bush, carefully stepping on a path that some other prior visitors to the island had cleared. They continued down the path until it came to a stop beside a small pond being fed by a extremely narrow creek. The water barely moved and appeared to have a thick muddy bottom.

"You found us a nice pond, Bruce. Good job," Emily commented sarcastically.

Bruce didn't answer but instead crouched down beside the edge of the pond and dug his hands into the muddy bottom. Emily watched as he pulled out a giant fistful of mud and proceeded to rub it on his arms.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked, incredulously. "That stinks!"

"I remembered from travelling through Asia that some people use mud when they were out in the bush to protect themselves from bugs," he said, smiling as he placed a handful into her palm.

"When were you in Asia?"

Bruce paused for a moment and smiled, realizing that she had no idea of his past in that part of the world.

"I'll tell you about it later," he said, gesturing down to the mud dripping from her palm. "Trust me though. It'll work."

Emily grimaced as she slowly rubbed it over her arm, feeling the cool stickyness on her skin. Bruce tried not to laugh at her discomfort.

"This is so nasty," she commented in obvious disgust, as she covered her other arm before being handed another handful of mud. She leaned over and ran it over her legs before proceeding to cover her stomach and chest. She stood back upright as Bruce was walking towards her.

"Turn around and I'll get your back," he told her.

Emily complied and felt the cold mud being caked over her back. She grimaced.

"Alfred would probably think that we're insane if he saw us now," she said aloud as Bruce finished on her back.

She turned back around and found Bruce handing her another handful of mud. He gestured to his own back and Emily pressed it onto his skin, trying to cover as much as she could.

"He'd probably just shake his head at us and wonder if the fresh, clean air has finally gotten to us," Bruce replied.

"Speaking of Alfred, wouldn't he be concerned that we haven't returned?"

Emily finished covering his back and Bruce turned back around to face her.

"He most likely saw the boat and knows that we're out here waiting."

Emily carefully covered her cheeks and forehead with the mud that Bruce offerred her as he covered his own face.

"Alfred told me what he was planning for supper," she said, with a smile. "It's making my stomach growl just thinking about it."

Bruce looked up at the sky, realizing that the sun was nearly setting and that the bush had gotten darker.

"We shouldn't have to wait much longer," he told her. "It should be dark enough when we get back to the beach."

Emily nodded and followed Bruce back down the trail. She had to admit that although it was the worst time of day to be in a bush, the bugs didn't seem to bother her as much anymore.

Bruce stopped just inside the tree line along the sandy beach.

"I think they gave up," Bruce said, looking out towards the yacht. They could see the lights along the deck.

Emily and Bruce walked out to the water and began to swim towards the yacht. Emily ducked beneath the water a few times in an effort to wash off the mud that had dried to their skin. They could no longer see the beautiful colours below them. Bruce made sure to keep Emily right at his side. The sky was getting darker, much quicker than he thought it would and the last thing he wanted was to lose her in a current in the night.

Suddenly, Emily stopped and let out a scream.

"Something touched my leg!" she exclaimed as she clammoured over to him in the water and wrapped her arms and legs around his body in a feeble attempt to get as far away from whatever was in the water with them.

Bruce quickly reacted when he felt her weight being added to his body and worked harder to keep both of them afloat.

"Em, it's probably just a fish," he said softly into her ear. He could hear her breathing unsteadily, and her grip didn't loosen with his attempt at reassuring her.

She let out a few deep breaths when a thought came to her.

"What did you call me?"

Bruce tried to think back to what he had just said. Her arms and legs were still wrapped tightly around him. He could feel the warmth of her breath against his face.

"Emily?"

Slowly, she loosened her arms around his neck and lowered her legs from around his torso. She looked at him, inches in front of her. She shook her head.

"You called me Em," she said softly.

"Do you mind?"

Once again she shook her head, keeping her eyes on his.

"It's just that you've never called me that before," she said.

Her heartrate wasn't slowing down and in fact was getting louder as they just quietly floated in the middle of the dark gulf. Emily almost wondered if Bruce could hear it. She noticed Bruce glance down at her mouth and then back to her eyes. Bruce was feeling a tug o'war going on in his head. As much as he wanted to kiss her, he knew that he couldn't. He shouldn't.

As uncertain as Emily was at that very moment, she took the initiative and placed her hands on the back of Bruce's neck before leaning in, gently pressing her lips against his. Neither one of them moved for that moment, until Emily slowly backed away, breaking the kiss.

Bruce seemed to have been caught by surprise. He had to mentally remind himself to tread water to keep himself afloat. The kiss was still so fresh in his mind that he couldn't think past it. As though he was made of hot coal, she quickly let go of him.

"Bruce, oh my God, I'm sorry," she said, suddenly feeling very embarrassed and wishing she could be somewhere else at that very moment. "I don't know why I did that."

She watched Bruce open his mouth, about to speak when they suddenly heard Alfred's voice call out.

"Is everything all right out there?"

Bruce turned towards the yacht when he heard Alfred voice. It even took a few beats for the question to register.

"We're fine," Bruce replied, not even a hint in his voice betraying the moment that just occurred seconds prior. "We're heading back in."

"Very good, sir."

Emily could feel the wall that Bruce had broken down get built back up again. She turned and began to swim back towards the yacht.

"Emily, wait!" Bruce called out, swimming to catch up with her. She didn't stop and instead picked up her pace. "We need to talk about this."

"Don't worry about it Bruce. It was a mistake."

Quickly, he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her backward in the water so that he could get to the ladder first. He quickly turned and sat down on the bottom rung, blocking her only way onto the yacht.

"Get out of the way," she told him, forcefully.

"No," he replied smugly. "Not until we talk about this."

Emily rolled her eyes as she continued to tread water in front of him.

"Are you kidding me? You're going to make me tread water until I drown unless I talk to you?"

Bruce smirked. "I won't let you drown, but I do want you to talk to me."

Emily let out a scoff as she angrily splashed water at him. She could make out his smug expression in the darkness as he sat on the ladder.

"Bruce Wayne! You're impossible!"

"No, I'm determined, just as you are. I know that if I let you get on this boat, you will disappear and not talk to me about this and will even go on to ignore me."

He paused, watching her look away from him, defiantly.

"I'll let you on the boat if you answer me one question. Why did you kiss me?"

Her eyes turned back to him as he sat on the lowest rung of the ladder in the water. There was no evidence of mocking on his face and he was asking in all sincerity.

She sighed and even rolled her eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe I wanted to know what it's like to kiss Bruce Wayne," she replied to him sarcastically. But then she continued on.

"Or perhaps the craziness of Gotham has finally gotten to me and I thought that there was something going on between us." She let out a sigh of frustration while she continued to tread water before she spoke again. "Or maybe I'm starting to actually fall in love with you, but then again my image of love is so screwed up due to growing up in a broken home and I haven't had a decent relationship in my life."

She shook her head and paused for a very brief moment.

"Maybe we should just forget that I kissed you and go on living like nothing happened. You've become such a good friend that I wouldn't want to ..."

She didn't even notice when Bruce leaned forward and wrapped an arm around her waist before he pulled her towards the ladder where he sat. In a quick movement, his lips met hers in a passionate ferocity. Every sense seemed to be in tune with each other at that moment. His mind couldn't get over the softness of her lips, the sweetness of them and the light sound of her moan as he pulled her closer to him. Bruce could feel the water dripping from her hair onto his chest and even the coolness of her skin against his.

Emily held onto his shoulders and could feel his muscles flex beneath her fingers as he pulled her closer to him. Every part of her didn't want him to stop when he finally broke the kiss, leaving her breathless and speachless.

Bruce smiled.

"You seem satisfied with yourself," Emily commented, her lips still a mere inch from his.

"I had to get you to stop talking somehow," he said softly.

He watched her smile fade as he lightly touched her face, brushing a piece of dried mud from below her ear with his fingers.

What was he doing? What was she doing? As though she broke through a thick fog and was suddenly hit with hard dose of reality, the excitement of the situation turned to concern.

Emily let go of Bruce and demanded that he got out of the way. Her sudden change of behaviour concerned him and Bruce complied, turning on the ladder and climbing up himself before Emily pulled herself out of the water. Without giving him a glance, she climbed up onto the deck and grabbed her towel, and wrapped it around herself. She didn't have to look to realize that Bruce was not to far from her, watching her. He wrapped a towel around his shoulders.

"What's going on with us?" she finally asked aloud and turned towards him. "I consider you my friend, but as far as I know, friends don't kiss each other the way we just did."

Bruce nodded lightly, agreeing with her. He knew it too. Something was going on but he found it hard to define exactly what it was. He watched her sit down in on the length of a lounge chair along the deck as they heard the roar of the engine starting up. Alfred no doubt had seen them come on board and started the ignition to begin their trip back to the marina.

He sat down beside her, and looked out into the gulf as they pulled away from the small island and headed back to port. The wind began to pick up, pulling at Emily's towel that she held tightly around herself. Bruce looked at her beside him and watched her duck her wet head slightly at the cool wind that picked up. He slid slightly closer to her and gently wrapped part of his large towel around her shoulders, a gesture hoping that she'd accept.

Emily grabbed ahold of the edge of the towel and leaned her head into him, resting it against his shoulder. She looked down at her hand resting on her lap. Slowly, she moved her hand over to Bruce's beside her and placed it over his. Bruce felt the touch and instantly turned his hand over, entwining her fingers between his, giving it a soft squeeze.

"Feeling warmer?" Bruce asked softly.

Emily nodded.

She wasn't wanting to change the subject but the confusion of what was going on between them weighed heavily on her mind. She was the type of person who needed all the details and until she did, it would bother her. It was something that made her a good doctor, but it also drove her crazy.

"We should talk about this," Emily suggested, as she looked at the lights of Key West as they approached the marina.

"Yeah. On the way to Miami we will."

Satisfied with the answer, she sighed, taking in the city lights as they reflected off the water.

Alfred not only was watching the waters around the yacht as he approached the marina, but also the couple sitting on the deck just below him. He couldn't help but smile at the sudden closeness of the two. He realized that something must have happened that he wasn't aware of. He looked down at the man whom he considered a son and thought back to the parents who raised him for the first handful of years of his life. They would have loved to have met Emily; the woman who seemed to be stealing Bruce's heart. He looked up momentarily up at the night sky, finding that the stars were beginning to come out.

"I think he's finally found her," Alfred whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts. They certainly keep me motivated to continue. Please feel free to review or comment. I'm really excited about the next few chapters. I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself or miss anything along the way. Sorry for the few spelling mistakes. I've edited the last chapter on my iPad and for some reason, the spell check isn't catching things on Fanfiction as it does in other applications.

* * *

Silence.

It followed them into the car at the marina as the two adults sat next to each other in the back of the car; memories of the moment that Alfred had witnessed on the boat quickly becoming a thing of the past. Apart from a few casual glances and exchanged smiles, they said nothing. Even the arrival at the tarmac and boarding the private jet was made in silence. They said nothing as they ate supper and barely regarded each other.

And now as Bruce sat alone on the private jet, Alfred wanted to shake some sense into the man; into both of them. Instead, Alfred walked over to him and placed a glass of ice water on the small table before sitting down in a seat across from Bruce. He watched as Bruce seemed to be miles away while the man looked out the small window. Finally, Bruce turned to look at him, possibly feeling the older man's eyes on him.

"Where is Miss Tucker?" Alfred asked.

He looked back out the window. "Getting changed before we land in Miami."

"Have you spoken to her yet?"

Bruce's eyes met Alfred's, knowing the man knew more than what he let on. Bruce wasn't surprised. Alfred seemed to always know everything that was going on.

"Not yet," he replied. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Alfred. "What's going on with Emily and I?"

"You're asking me?"

Bruce let out an exasperated sigh. "I just don't know what's going on. She makes me feel happy. I don't have to hide who I am when I'm around her and it's refreshing. There are moments that I feel things for her which I've never felt for anyone before."

"And other times?"

"I feel guilty for feeling them," Bruce replied. "It makes me confused."

"You're thinking about Rachel," Alfred stated, rather than asked. He didn't need to be told that Bruce still thought of her often and continued to carry the guilt of her death on his own shoulders. Bruce never spoke of her much after her death. It worried Alfred somewhat. He fought with the decision he had made when he had burned her letter and final words to Bruce. Alfred often wondered if he had disclosed what her intentions were to him years ago, would the younger man be struggling now.

Bruce reached for the glass of ice water, feeling the cool condensation on his hand and saw the ring on the table it left behind. He took a sip.

"Yeah," he finally said, perhaps even admitting it to himself.

Alfred let out an audible sigh.

"Sir, Rachel was a special person in your life and she will never be replaced," Alfred said, watching as Bruce gently set the glass back down on the table. Alfred glanced up to see Emily walk out of the bathroom, her hair falling over her shoulders as she began to rummage through one of her duffle bags. "But Emily is special as well and she is someone who seems to accept you and every facet of your life. You'll never feel the same for her as you did for Rachel. If you try to wait for a relationship to become familiar to you, you may end up waiting too long and you'll be too late."

Alfred said the last few words quickly as he noticed Emily walking towards them, her duffle bag in her hand. She glanced down at Alfred and then met Bruce's eyes before she smiled sheepishly, setting the bag down in an empty seat beside them. She was back to wearing the pencil skirt and blouse and appeared ready, except her hair wasn't done. She casually tucked her hair back behind her ears.

"I need some help," she said, appearing a little embarrassed to be asking for assistance. "I took out my contacts and went to put on my glasses but they weren't in their case and I can't seem to be able to find them in my bag. I can't see properly without them and feeling for them isn't working."

Alfred looked over at Bruce as he stood up and began fishing through her bag, trying to feel for the frames.

"Did you have them on the yacht?"

Emily nodded. "I know I put them back in the bag, but I don't remember where I put them."

Alfred stood up. "I'll go and check our bags in the back. Perhaps it was accidentally placed in one of them."

Emily turned and watched the man walk away as Bruce gently felt the outside of the bag. A smile tugged at his face when he realized that they weren't in the bag at all. He unzipped a side pocket and reached inside before pulling out the small, black framed glasses.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, happily as she took them from his hand. "I'll go tell Alfred that we found them.

Bruce watched her turn to walk away when he quickly caught her by the arm.

"Hold on," he said, as she paused. "We need to talk and I'd rather do it when it's just us."

Emily nodded and slid an empty chair beside him.

That awkward silence suddenly filled the space between them again. It was becoming all too familiar and Bruce was getting frustrated with it.

Emily looked down at her bare feet, uncertain of what she should say or what he would say. She had never been in that situation before. She had never had to define a relationship with someone. Whenever it became to serious, rather than talking about it, she broke it off. It just seemed easier. This time, once again, she wanted to jump off that same cliff. Instead, a hand suddenly touched hers, tugging her back from that edge.

Bruce took a breath. He had asked this same question to countless women, but this time it felt different.

"Would you like to go out with me sometime? You know a lot about me and I'm wanting to know more about you."

Red alert! Emily's mind was screaming at her. She chose to ignore it and instead laced her fingers between his.

"All right. I'd love to," she said, smiling as she was defeating what her mind was telling her to do otherwise. Secretly, she was scared. No, she was freaking out. A potential relationship with Bruce Wayne? She didn't need reminding to know that the man who's hand she was gently caressing with her fingertips was also one of the most eligible bachelors in the city and she was the one who could be changing that status. Another thought came to mind when she realized that she would no longer be known as simply Dr. Emily Tucker, but instead Dr. Emily Tucker, Bruce Wayne's girlfriend.

He reached with his other hand and pushed the few strands of hair back behind her ear. She sighed, feeling the goosebumps rise on her arms.

In a further capacity to ignore what every facet of her being was telling her not to do, Emily reached forward defiantly and gently touched Bruce's face, feeling the stubble beneath her fingers. Deep down, she was warning herself what a bad idea this was and that a relationship with Bruce Wayne could never work out.

With a playful smile, she leaned forward and lightly kissed his cheek. A smile grew on his face.

"What was that for?"

Emily shrugged, as she smiled flirtatiously at him; something she rarely did.

"That was for surprising me with the stop in Key West today," she replied, as she sat back in the chair, attempting to make herself more comfortable next to Bruce.

Bruce had to admit that although he had never seen this side of Emily, he was enjoying it.

"That's it?" he asked, mockingly.

Emily chuckled. "Consider the kiss I gave you in the water as a token of my appreciation."

"Hey, wait a minute," Bruce said, sitting up straighter and turning in his seat towards her. "I thought that you kissed me because you were falling in love with me."

Emily crossed her arms and sat on the edge of the seat towards Bruce. She smirked. "Okay then. But, did you really kiss me to shut me up? Because you could have just told me to shut up and I would've shut my mouth."

Emily watched Bruce's eyes change as he looked down at her hands. He gently took them in his own, noticing how small they were compared this his.

"I kissed you because I have feelings for you," he said quietly. "I don't exactly know how to explain it yet, but I care a lot about you and I was just overwhelmed when you told me that you were falling in love with me. I just couldn't believe that it would happen at all and happen so quickly considering we've known each other for close to a month."

Emily looked at Bruce's eyes.

"I think I first realized that I felt something when you turned down my invitation to going to the theatre," Emily admitted, with a shy smile.

Bruce smirked. "I'll make that up to you."

He leaned in towards her and lightly brushed his lips against her own. The touch was feather soft, but it wasn't enough. Emily pushed the arm rest back and out of the way before leaning further towards Bruce, deepening the kiss. She heard him let out a light moan and felt him glide his hands down her sides. He began to tug at the blouse firmly tucked in her skirt. When she felt his warm hands touch the skin on her lower back, she gasped and broke the kiss.

"What is it?" Bruce quickly asked, searching her eyes as she gently pushed her glasses up her nose as they had fallen down slightly.

"Nothing," she replied softly. "I..uh...isn't Alfred just in the other room? We should be landing soon anyways."

Perhaps the thought never occurred to Bruce or maybe he just wasn't concerned with Alfred nearby as the man was always close by.

"Oh, right," Bruce said, as Emily bit her lip. He could tell that something was on her mind as she looked at his face.

"Would you mind also if we kept this relationship thing to ourselves? At least for the next little while as we get used to each other and get to know each other a little more."

Bruce smiled and nodded. "Of course." Suddenly he leaned in slightly. "But you don't need to worry about Alfred The man probably already knows."

Emily appeared surprised. "He does?"

"I do, Miss Tucker," replied a voice as Alfred walked up to them, with a grin on his face. Emily stifled a laugh as Alfred sat down across from them while the plane prepared to land.

* * *

Alfred wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't been seeing it with his own eyes.

He watched in hidden amusement as Bruce Wayne would toss subtle glances towards Emily as they rode quietly, side by side in the car to the hotel and then again while he spoke with the hotel manager upon their arrival. To a bystander, he would've appeared to have been acting himself; the playboy. But Alfred could see through it. Bruce was no longer acting. The loving smiles he candidly sent Emily's way were genuine. Bruce's tough exterior was crumbling all thanks to a woman who was thrown into his life by accident.

He found it amusing to watch the couple in the privacy of the elevator once the doors closed. Attempting to be discreet in Alfred's presence, Emily slowly reached out with one hand for Bruce's as he laced his fingers between hers until the elevator came to a stop at the penthouse suite level. Both Emily and Bruce's hands dropped to their sides, anticipating someone in the hallway. Alfred didn't think that he would see anything more amusing that day than that. That was, until he walked into the large kitchen of the penthouse suite.

Bruce was standing over a pot of boiling water on the stainless steel stove, as he held up a small bag to the light. The man let out a frustrated sigh and seeing the dozens of empty pots on the counter and only one being on the stove top, Alfred was certain that there was a good story behind it. Unfortunatley, the billionaire seemed too frazzled and Alfred was certain that the man's patience was running too thin to handle a light joke or two at his expense. Instead, Alfred tried a different approach.

"Is there something I can help you with sir?"

Bruce nodded, handing Alfred the small envelope. The man read the side of the package as a smile came to his face. He quickly opened it and took a deep breath. It was tea. It had a nice fruity aroma.

"Emily handed me that and asked me if I could make some tea for her," Bruce said. "I've never made loose leaf tea like this before. I have no clue how much to put in compared to water."

Alfred smiled. "It all depends on how much you'd want to make." He paused looking around. "Where is Miss Tucker, anyways?"

Bruce turned off the element where the pot of water was boiling.

"She's taking a shower to get the leftover mud off," he replied.

Alfred debated on whether he should ask about the mud but he quickly disregarded it.

"The plan for the evening is tea and a movie," Bruce added, as he watched Alfred scoop a few spoonfuls of the tea into the bottom of the glass container.

"Sounds like a nice night in, sir," Alfred commented with a smile. "It's not very often you're not out at this hour."

Bruce agreed. It had been a long time since he wasn't able to go out at night. His mind wandered back to Gotham and wondered what Batman was missing with being off the streets for one night. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice Emily back in the kitchen, standing beside Alfred as he poured tea into three cups.

"That smells wonderful," Alfred said. "Where did you get it?"

Emily shrugged. "A friend of mine gave it to me and I think he picked it up at a market downtown. I'll see if I can get the name for you."

Bruce watched her, seeing her dark hair falling over her shoulders and onto her light green t-shirt. His eyes travelled down to her striped matching sleep pants. In her most casual state possible, he found her extremely beautiful.

When he noticed that she was coming towards him, he smiled and took the mug from her hands, thanking her softly. As much as he wasn't a fan of tea, he had to admit that it smelled great. It wasn't like the teas that Alfred practically force-fed him when he was sick as a child, claiming to prove to him that they would help a cold.

Alfred bid them both goodnight and disappeared down the hallway, carrying his own teacup, when Bruce turned to Emily.

"So, what are we going to watch?" Bruce asked, as he followed Emily towards the couches surrounding the mounted 36 inch television.

She shrugged, as she set down her mug on the table and picked up the remote, turning on the television. A smile came to her face when she recognized the black and white scene on the screen.

"I Love Lucy," Bruce remarked as he also recognized the actors on the television. He sat down on the couch. "My parents loved this show. They'd watch it whenever there would be reruns of the show on."

Emily sighed and sat down beside him.

"I hated this show when I was growing up, but I began to enjoy it when I was in University," she said. "It was the show we watched to unwind during exams."

Bruce watched a scene and began to chuckle. "Yeah, I can imagine a little humour during a stressful time would do wonders."

Emily nodded, taking a careful sip from her teacup.

"Why didn't you like it when you were younger?"

She paused and thought.

"I guess I was a little jealous of their kid," she admitted, taking another sip.

Bruce looked at the screen, watching the interaction between Ricky and Lucy and watching Little Ricky come bounding happily into the room only to be scooped up by his loving father. Thoughts poured through his head and Bruce even began to become a little angry as he thought through the possibilities of what Emily could have gone through as a child. Emily made things clear for him.

"My Dad walked out on my Mom and I when I was eight," she said. "I followed him out the door and to his car, begging him to stay. He drove down the road and never came back. I've never seen him since."

She felt a hand gently caress her back. With a sigh, she leaned back into the couch. Bruce brought his hand up and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Then after my Mom seemingly got over her depression, she went through a slew of boyfriends and various jobs," she told him. "It wasn't until I came home for Christmas during my first year of University that I realized how deep in trouble she had gotten herself. I found her unconscious on the couch, reacting to an overdose of drugs she had been on." Emily paused, looking back up at Lucille Ball on the screen. "She lived for a few more days and passed away just before New Years."

"I'm sorry," Bruce said softly into her ear.

"I went back to school the following week like nothing ever happened," she said. "People would come up to me at school and tell me how sorry they were and to ask if I needed anything. I put on a smile and acted like everything was fine. I never got close to anyone after that. I was better at being angry. I bottled things down. I never let relationships get past a certain point because I didn't want to feel anything."

Bruce could certainly relate. As he listened to her speak, he could anticipate exactly what she would say or how she'd feel.

Emily rested her head against Bruce's shoulder, and he brushed her hair away from his face with his hand. She let out a breath.

"And I've been like that for the past 12 years."

She paused for a moment before smiling.

"But then you had to come and ruin it all," she said, nudging him with her elbow.

Bruce chuckled.

"I'm serious," she said with a smile, pushing up to turn to look at him. "You've made me feel like there is more to life. I've felt more alive since I've met you."

Bruce reached forward and pushed the hair that had fallen into her face back with his hand. He paused with his hand in her hair as a smile grew on his face.

"Did you know that you've become more beautiful since I've met you?"

She narrowed her eyes playfully.

"Are you saying that I was ugly before I met you?"

Bruce let out a laugh. "Hey! You're digging a hole for me here."

Emily laughed along with him. Bruce looked over at her.

"But I can relate to feeling more alive," he said, with a smile. "I think you've brought me back to life."

Emily leaned in towards Bruce and took his face between her hands before placing her lips on his. Bruce sat up straighter as Emily wrapped her arms around his neck. He placed his hands on her back and held her to him before slowly laying her down on the couch, never breaking the kiss. Bruce laid down beside her, as Emily turned her body to face him and to prevent herself from falling off. Emily felt Bruce sweep his hand down her back to rest on her backside. She slowly broke the kiss and trailed kisses down his neck to his collarbone.

Bruce gasped at the sensation, and pulled Emily closer to him.

"Emily," Bruce said, nearly breathlessly.

She didn't even respond.

"Emily," he said again, this time a little louder.

She stopped and looked up at him, their faces an inch apart. She was just as breathless as he was. He looked at her blue eyes through a few wisps of hair.

"Yeah?"

Bruce didn't really know what to say. He didn't want to push her into anything but he also knew that he couldn't continue like this.

"Let's go..." he began.

"...somewhere else?" she finished.

A smile formed on their faces as they both quickly pushed up off the couch, giggling and shushing each other as they tried to silently make their way down the hallway. Bruce planted a rough yet passionate kiss onto Emily's lips before pushing the door to his bedroom open and then closed it behind him, ensuring to lock it.


	8. Chapter 8

Here's one more chapter before I'm on vacation for the week. I'm not certain if I'll get the time or chance to put anything else up within the next week or so, but at least I've gotten another chapter up before I go. Have a great weekend! Thank you for the reviews!

* * *

Close to ten hours later and no one would never suspect what had transpired in the penthouse suite of the hotel. No one except for Alfred who had the opportunity to see a topless Bruce Wayne walk casually into the kitchen in the morning like nothing had happened. Bruce was always good at acting. It was what he had done nearly every day of his adult life. Alfred had learned to look past it. Bruce could sense Alfred's eyes of scrutiny on him while he reached into the fridge to pull out the container of orange juice. Less than thirty-seconds later, Emily stepped into the kitchen in her T-shirt and sleep pants to find Alfred's gaze turn to her. She paused at the door, her expression as that of a cat who had caught the canary.

That expression finally disappeared the moment they stepped out of the hotel suite.

Alfred had to give her some credit. So far, she was looking and acting the part of an assistant of Bruce Wayne's. His and Bruce's concern was the man she was about to meet within Genwerx. Alfred listened as Bruce finished explaining his plan and what he wanted her to do as they rode in the backseat of the Mercedes-Benz.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?"

Emily nodded, as she pulled out a small compact mirror from her pocket.

"I wouldn't have agreed to it if I didn't," she replied back at him, as she took a final look in the small compact mirror to ensure that she appeared ready.

"I'm just being cautious," he said, closing the briefcase in front of him as he had just finished showing her the various 'toys' that Lucius had set them up with.

"I grew up in Gotham," she argued. "I think I can handle this guy."

Bruce looked towards Alfred, meeting his gaze.

"I'll have Emily call you when we're ready to be picked up."

"Yes, sir," Alfred stated as he pulled up alongside the curb at the Genwerx building. "Good luck."

Emily and Bruce both opened their doors and stepped out into the sunshine. Rather than waiting for Emily, Bruce began to walk towards the front door to the building. He slipped on his sunglasses as he did up the bottom button of his suit coat while he walked. Emily walked slightly behind him carrying a small briefcase.

Emily watched as Bruce walked up to the front desk where two receptionists and a security officer sat. He slapped on his playboy smile.

"Bruce Wayne," he said, looking down at the woman in front of him. "I'm here to meet with Mr. Cooke."

The woman at the desk looked up at him over her glasses, her cheeks reddening slightly before she began to type on the keyboard in front of her.

"You're early," the man beside her responded. He glanced at Emily standing a few feet behind Bruce. "Who's she?"

Bruce turned and leaned against the desk.

"Oh, she's only my assistant," he said with a smile.

"I need a name," the man stated.

Bruce found himself stuck. He couldn't remember and that's when Emily stepped forward. "Bethany Morris."

Bruce shrugged and smiled coyly. "I can never remember names. One assistant is just like the others."

"I'm sure that they are, Mr. Wayne," the receptionist said. "You can go up and wait outside his office."

Bruce nodded as he began to walk forward with Emily at his side when the security officer stood up.

"Excuse me, ma'am!" he called out. Emily stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I need to take a look at that."

Bruce stopped since Emily had been called back. He feigned annoyance and glanced down at his watch before walking back towards the desk.

"It's a good thing that we came early."

He watched as the security officer, turned and flipped the briefcase around before waving his metal detector over it.

Knowing what she knew was hidden within the briefcase, she felt her heart pound slightly as the metal detector passed over it. When it didn't beep, she finally relaxed.

"Can we go now?" Bruce asked, playing the role of an impatient toddler very well.

Emily smiled apologetically to the man.

"Thank you," the security officer said, gently handing the briefcase back to Emily and even offering a sympathetic smile to her.

She followed Bruce into an elevator and waited until the door closed before she spoke.

"You could have warned me that the briefcase wouldn't be detectable," she said softly.

"Sorry about that," he replied, just as quiet.

"And you're quite mean to people. Did you know that?"

"That's what I seem to do best."

Emily smirked.

"If you get any more nasty, I'm going to have trouble biting my tongue."

When the elevator door finally opened on the executive floor of the Genwerx building, Bruce stepped out with Emily following again behind him. The floor was lined with cubicles with a path around and between them. Phones rang and men and women walked around, passing letters and paper photocopies. Bruce turned when he saw a tall woman waiting for them at the door to the elevator. The woman was stood nearly two inches taller than Emily and met Bruce's eyes. She smiled at him.

"Mr. Wayne," she said smoothly, extending her hand towards him. "I'm Charlene, Mr. Cooke's assistant. He's meeting with a board member at the moment but he's assured me that he'll be ready for you shortly. If you follow me, you can wait for him in his office."

Bruce smirked, glad to hear that their punctuality was paying off. They followed Charlene past the sea of cubicles, a few heads glancing in their direction as went by.

"I trust that you have enjoyed your visit to Miami," Charlene said, her hips swinging side to side as she walked beside Bruce.

Bruce smirked. "You have no idea."

Emily nearly let out a laugh but quickly hid it with a cough, which she was certain Bruce caught as he glanced quickly over at her. She listened as Bruce began to flirt with the assistant. Emily watched as Bruce strategically leaned against the door frame with his hand as he continued to flirt mercilessly. The woman basked in it and played right along with him as though she had been trained in flirtation. Emily had never been so happy to finally see the woman leave them alone in the office.

"You really are a playboy," she remarked as both her and Bruce stood up. Emily pulled out a cell phone out from her pocket as she stood by the door. She smiled as the picture came into view. "The camera you put up on the door works great."

"Good," Bruce said, as he continued to pull apart the briefcase, taking a few microphones the size of pennies in his hand. "Let me know if you see anyone."

She looked back down at the cell phone. "Nothing."

Quickly, Bruce walked over to a bookshelf. He placed one microphone behind a photo frame that appeared to not have been touched in a long time. He climbed onto the desk and reached into the light that hung above and placed another just below the chain that held it to the ceiling.

"Still clear?" he asked, his voice deep.

Emily nodded.

Bruce turned to her when he didn't hear her reply. "Emily!" he whispered roughly.

She turned towards him, somewhat confused why he seemed upset.

"What?" she whispered loudly, slightly annoyed.

"Is it still clear?" he asked, just as soft and just as irritated.

"I said yes," she whispered harshly, before looking back down at the cell phone. Her eyes widened slightly. "No, not clear. Someone's coming."

Bruce quickly jumped down from the desk. He turned to the briefcase noticing that it was still needing to be put back together. To his chagrin, he watched her disappear behind the door.

Bruce wasn't happy, until he heard her voice from the other side of the door and what she appeared to be doing. She was buying him time.

Emily met the green eyes of a man the moment she stepped out of the office and closed the mahogany door behind her.

"Hi," she said, trying to play up the role she was given. She smiled sweetly, pushing up on the glasses on her nose as she leaned up against the door.

The man smiled, coyly at her.

"Hello. And may I ask what you're doing here?"

"My name is Bethany Morris," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Mr. Wayne's assistant."

The man nodded in understanding as he shook her hand.

"And he let you out of his sight?"

Emily smiled sheepishly.

"Mr. Wayne was wanting something to drink," she told him, as the man nodded.

He turned and called one of the women from the cubicles, and told her to get a glass of ice water. She quickly complied and headed towards the water cooler by the elevators before the man turned back to Emily.

"Oh, where are my manners," he said, playfully hitting his head. "I'm Brian Cooke."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cooke."

"Please, call me Brian," he said with a wink. "And the pleasure is all mine, I assure you."

Emily smiled, trying to think of how to keep up the conversation.

"Then you must call me Bethany," she said.

"That's a lovely name," he commented with a smile. "You don't hear of it too often. How long have you been working for Mr. Wayne?"

"Not long," she replied. "This is my first business trip as his employee."

The prayers she was sending up to heaven must have paid off because the glass of cold water suddenly returned to them. Brian opened the door for her and Emily walked in, hiding her surprise when she saw Bruce sitting casually in the chair opposite the desk, with paperwork on his lap. She walked straight towards him and handed him the water. Bruce politely thanked her when he saw the man walking in behind her. Bruce stood up and plastered one of those smiles on his face.

"Ah, Bruce Wayne," Brian said, holding out his hand towards Bruce. "So good to see you again old man."

Bruce smiled as he shook the man's hand. "Good to see you too, Brian."

Bruce turned to Emily who stood silently a few feet behind him. "I see you've already met my assistant, Bethany Morris."

Brian nodded and leaned in towards Bruce.

"Where did you find her, Bruce?"

It was obvious to Bruce that Brian was already taken with Emily.

"She came highly recommended," Bruce replied, with a smirk.

Brian chuckled, clapping Bruce on the shoulder. "I'm sure that she was."

He glanced down at the open briefcase on the chair and the pile of paperwork next to it.

"It appears that you're ready to get down to business," Brian commented.

Bruce turned to the stack of paper. "Mr. Fox prepared some documents and notes based on what you had told us during the last time we met. We were just wanting to know if there have been any amendments or additions that need to be made since the documents were created."

Brian smirked, tapping his hand against the top of his desk before casting a quick glance at Emily before looking back at Bruce. He crossed his arms in front of him.

"You're wanting to know about any new products or inventions that we have come up with."

Bruce nodded. "If Wayne Enterprises is going to be getting in bed with Genwerx, we'd like to know what we're getting into before we jump in feet first."

"I showed you what we had the last time you were here," Brian argued.

"That was a while ago," Bruce countered. "A lot has changed within the structure of Wayne Enterprises and we would be ready to invest and collaborate with future projects. It was a tough decision last time when we backed out. Wayne Enterprises is ready now for such a collaboration."

Brian thought for a moment, before he nodded.

"If you're wanting to know what we've been up to, I think it would be better if I showed you rather than explain," Brian said. "If you follow me, I'll give you a tour that will most certainly encourage you to invest and partner with us this time."

Emily followed the two men as they made their way down the hallway side by side, talking business and financials; two things that were foreign to Emily. Instead, she observed the doors they passed and the signs on the starch white walls. Her mind tried to follow the maze that Brian took them through but each hallway looked the same as the rest. The only difference were the numbers on the doors. A few people in full haz-mat suits would pass by them and would turn around, acting surprised at the visitors they had.

Emily casually turned the briefcase, and pressed the button beneath the handle to take a picture. She would stop every so often and turn around as Brian was busy speaking with Bruce. It wasn't until she walked towards a glass door that he noticed her.

Although Bruce attempted to engage the man in conversation, his attention was already turned to Emily as she approached a door which he clearly didn't want her to go close to.

"See something interesting?"

Emily shrugged. "This door caught my eye. I rarely understand much of what Mr. Wayne does and I found it interesting that he would invest in a company as unique as yours."

She watched a gleam in Brian's eyes. Could he tell that she was attempting to flatter him? Finally, a smirk appeared to grace his face.

"Then I'm sure that you'd be interested in what we have going on in this room over here," he said, resting his hand on her lower back as he directed her across the hall. Her eyes met Bruce's as he stood in the middle of the hallway. He gave her a subtle nod as she allowed Brian to escort her to a place that he obviously felt more comfortable showing a stranger. She suddenly changed her tactic.

"I'd be more interested in what you were doing in that lab," Emily said, pointing towards the door they were walking away from.

"Unfortunately, it's locked and under restricted access."

"Even to you?" she asked sweetly with a smile.

She was doing well. Bruce had to admit that. She had managed to capture the attention of the CEO as Bruce reached into his pocket for another microphone

Bruce watched as she sweet-talked her way into letting Brian Cooke show her the room with restricted access. He followed them into the room and managed to place the microphone beneath a table by the door.

"There's nothing interesting in here," Brian told Emily. "Just many science equipment and things."

Emily did find one thing interesting. A large white board was covered with dozens of equations using periodic elements. A few words in Latin, possibly the scientific name for something was circled near the bottom of the board.

Bruce watched as Brian appeared to become a little apprehensive with her looking so long at what was written on the white board.

"What is written there?" Bruce finally asked.

Brian shrugged and smiled, certainly feigning ignorance as his body language told Bruce otherwise.

"I don't know," he said with a laugh. "I leave the scientific stuff to my employees. I only sign their pay check. Why don't we discuss it further downstairs? We have a beautiful lounge on the main floor," Brian suggested, as he walked a little quicker than he had before towards the door with Emily in front of him.

Bruce nodded and followed the man towards the elevator. He glanced over at Emily walking beside him. He was more interested in knowing what she had read and resolved that he would again have to wait.

Emily sat between Bruce and Brian at the table and across from Charlene. Emily was quiet as Bruce and Brian continued their conversation speaking in financial terms that she wasn't familiar with. She tried to feign interest as she looked at each of the men as they spoke. Every so often she glanced over at Charlene across from her as she quietly listened and volunteered information for Brian when asked. It was hard not to become disinterested and Emily soon found herself staring down onto her plate of warm sushi.

It wasn't until she felt a warm hand on her knee that she suddenly looked up. She heard looked over at Bruce and heard him talking before she quickly realized it whose it was. Slowly, she looked over at Brian and caught his smirk and a wink before he turned back to Bruce.

Emily sat up straighter as she felt him move his hand higher up her thigh. When she felt his hand move towards the inside of her leg, she quickly stood up gaining the attention of both men and Charlene at the table.

"I'll be right back," she told them as she dropped her napkin beside her plate and walked off towards the washrooms.

"What's that all about?" Brian asked, in all sincerity.

Bruce looked over his shoulder as he watched her walk into the lobby towards the washrooms. He was concerned.

"I don't know."

Emily took deep breaths as she walked through the lobby, passing various business men and women as they went past the security desk. As she walked past the desk, she noticed the security officer sitting in a chair, holding up the newest copy of the Miami Herald as he read it. A photo on the back cover caught her eye as did the title in small writing - Wayne's Private Island Getaway.

She paused for a moment, trying to see from a distance if she could even recognize that it was her. There was no doubt that the photographer had gotten a decent enough picture of herself and Bruce as they stood on the shore of the beach, her mask firmly in place over her face.

Sighing in relief, she turned and walked back to the table.

"That was quick," Brian commented, as they looked up at her.

Carefully, she sat down.

"I was just needing some fresh air," she told them. "I don't think some of the sushi is sitting well with me but I'll be all right."

Bruce looked at her, concerned. He could tell that something was wrong, but he wasn't about to ask her in front of Brian. So, he simply nodded.

"You may go up and lie down in my office, if you'd like," Brian suggested as he gently rubbed the back of her neck. Bruce caught the gesture and folded his hands in front of him over his plate, trying to ignore it.

"No, thank you," Emily said, shrugging Brian's hands off her neck. She glanced quickly over at Bruce for a moment before attempting to relax under Brian's gaze.

Brian finally nodded before sitting back in his chair and continued his conversation with Bruce. Less than a minute later, she felt that hand back on her leg.

She did everything in her power to not swat it off like a fly and stand up to hurl an a few choice words of profanity at the man, but she managed to bite her tongue. But as his hand began to travel beneath her pencil skirt, she had decided that he had gone too far.

Emily suddenly pushed her chair out, catching Brian off guard as he suddenly slumped forward, his hand dropped off her leg. Bruce looked over at him, confused as Emily reached for her cocktail glass and splashed it into Brian's face before she slapped him. The man seemed as surprised as Bruce and Charlene were and the spectacle quickly gained the attention of everyone in the room.

"Keep your disgusting hands off of me, you pervert!" she shouted as Brian pushed his chair back to stand up, his hand against his cheek. Bruce stood up at the same moment, finally aware what was bothering Emily during their entire time at the lounge. He couldn't blame her for the outburst and he felt bad.

Brian face and top of this suit jacket and shirt were soaked as Charlene stood up beside him, handing the man his napkin, to which Brian just tossed back onto the table. He was angry.

"Wayne! Do you tolerate this type of behaviour from your employees?"

Bruce looked over at Emily and realized that other guests were watching with anticipation as to what he was about to do.

"Only when it's justified," he replied, calmly.

Brian seemed to seethe with anger even more.

"Our deal is off!" he exclaimed.

Bruce smirked and nodded. "Fine with me." He turned to Emily. "Let's get out of here."

He began to walk out of the lounge with Emily behind him and past the many onlookers.

"Wayne!" Brian called. "The sex must be good if you let her get away with that sort of behaviour."

Emily felt the verbal slap and stopped to see Bruce turn in front of her as she watched a familiar darkness fall over his face.

"Bruce," she said softly, putting her hand on his arm. "Ignore him."

"When you finally fire her, send her back down to Miami," Brian called. "I'm sure that I can find a few positions for her here."

Bruce could hear him chuckle and the double meaning behind his words and it was enough. He walked around Emily with a smile on his face as he approached Brian. Without another thought, his made a fist and punched Brian in the face, catching the man completely off guard. He fell backward and held onto his cheek as a nasty bruise was already beginning to form. Bruce cradled his hand, forgetting how painful it can be to punch someone without the protection of a glove.

He looked beside him when he felt a hand on his arm, pulling him back.

"Bruce, let's go."

He saw the urgency in her face and agreed. Bruce followed her out of the lounge as she pulled out a cell phone from her bag, quickly dialing it to contact Alfred.

"He's around the corner and will be at the curb in a minute," Emily told him as they walked out of the lounge.

Bruce nodded as they made their way out the door and into the sunlight. Emily looked down the road, watching as a parade of taxi's and vehicles made their way past the building. She anxiously looked for the familiar dark Mercedes when she heard a voice call out towards them.

"Hey Wayne! Expect a phone call from my lawyer! I'm suing you for assault!"

Bruce looked over his shoulder to see Brian standing at the doorway, with a cloth to his head.

Emily had bit her tongue far too long. She turned around just as Alfred pulled up alongside the curb and Bruce opened the door for her.

"Then I'll be suing your ass for sexual harassment, you perverted jerk!"

Bruce took her by the arm and gently led her towards the open door, and closed it behind her before rushing around to the other side of the car and quickly climbed in.

He heard Emily let out an irritated sigh.

"What a pompous, arrogant bastard!" she exclaimed, as she kicked off her shoes and took off her glasses.

The outburst caused Alfred to glance up at her through the rearview mirror.

Bruce slowly flexed his right hand and balled it into a fist before stretching out his fingers again. The muscles were already feeling the tightness.

"Alfred, can you drive us right to the airport? We're leaving," he said, equally frustrated.

"I take it the meeting didn't go well," Alfred stated as Bruce let out a grunt.

"The swelling on my hand says it all."

Alfred looked towards Bruce.

"Did you hit that man?"

Emily reached out and took Bruce's hand as the man looked up at Alfred. She turned it over to take a look at the swelling that was quickly building along his knuckles.

"Unfortunately," he replied, as he looked back down at his hand as Emily pressed her fingers against the inside of palm as she slowly moved every finger, one at a time, checking to see if any of them were broken.

They could hear Alfred sigh as he passed a folded newspaper over his shoulder.

"Then I'm sure that the newspapers will love it as much as they scooped up your picture from last night," he said, solemnly.

Bruce glanced up at Emily as he gently pulled his hand away from her to skim through the paper until he found their image on the back cover. He looked over at Emily as she turned to gaze out the window.

"They don't know it's you," he assured her. "And as far as Brian Cooke knows, you're Bethany Morris. He'd never be able to track you down."

She nodded, as he paused for a moment.

"I'm sorry for putting you in that position," Bruce said softly. "If I knew what he was doing..."

Emily smiled wearily before reaching forward and traced her hand along his face. "It's fine Bruce. I took care of myself."

The image of her slapping Brian across the face and tossing the remnants of her drink at him replayed in his mind as a smile came to his face.

"You certainly did," Bruce remarked. "At least we managed to get the microphone's placed."

"You got them all sir?" Alfred asked.

Bruce nodded as he picked up the laptop from the floor and opened it up, noticing that the microphones were working and were transmitting the sounds of the rooms onto the internet to Bruce's laptop. "All three, plus one more that we never expected to get but thanks to Emily, we did."

Alfred smiled. "So, you two worked as a pretty good team, yeah?"

Bruce nodded. "We did."

The smile faded as a thought came to his mind. He turned to Emily.

"Did you know what was written on that white board?"

She shrugged. "I'm not a scientist so I'm not familiar with what the chemical compounds would create. But I did recognize part of the diagram as being that of epinephrine. They did have another bio molecule attached to it that I didn't recognize. I'm sure that if I can at least write out what I saw."

Bruce smiled. "That would be great. Thank you. I'm glad that I brought you along, even if I do end up getting a lawsuit out of it."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Someone had asked a few chapters ago about Emily's age. I'm putting her at 31.

* * *

Friday, April 27th

The microphones in Brian Cooke's office revealed more than Bruce ever thought possible or even wanted to know. The audio details of an encounter between the CEO and his assistant were quickly bypassed. Those were just some things that Bruce didn't want to know about, let alone overhear. After hearing a one-sided conversation on the telephone regarding a missing shipment, Batman began to do nightly surveillance of both the train yards and the docks. Batman suspected that the missing shipment would be heading straight for Gotham and into Crane's hands. He continued his rounds for ten days with no results.

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since he had dropped Emily back off at her apartment after they had returned from Miami. He had told her that he'd be busy for the next week little while, but as the days passed, he realized how much he came to miss the woman. He would watch from a perch on top of the tall buildings as he spotted her making her way towards the after-hours clinic to begin her shift. She had called him a few times on his cell phone and left voice mail every few calls. When he would finally get a chance to call her back, he'd realize that she was most likely asleep after her night shift and he didn't want to disturb her rest. The lack of both conversation and spending time together was starting to concern not only Bruce but Emily as well.

Emily was beginning to reconsider how healthy a relationship with someone such as Bruce Wayne could actually be. It wasn't just the whole Batman aspect, but they were both very busy people. An eight hour midnight shift, 5 days a week didn't leave time for a relationship. He was rarely far from her mind over those ten days though. Louise at work even commented to her a few days after Emily's return from Miami that she looked different and prodded the younger woman for details on whether she had met someone when she went south. Of course, Emily kept the truth to herself, but would find her heart skip when she'd glance up at the television in the clinic waiting area as images and video of Bruce Wayne appeared on the screen. If absence did make the heart grow fonder, Emily had no doubt that she was falling in love with the man.

Butterflies!

Her stomach seemed to be filled with them that day. She couldn't help but feel nervous as she sat silently in the cab beside Louise and behind Bill as he directed the driver towards Wayne Tower that morning. Emily wasn't sure if it was the impending meeting that they were leading or if it was because she'd be seeing Bruce again.

The traffic was certainly slowing them down and he had muttered countless times that they were going to be late.

Bill was nervous.

Bruce Wayne had his secretary call the clinic a few days prior stating that not only was Bruce Wayne wanting to throw a fundraiser for the clinic but he was wanting the board to consider funding the organization. Bill had jumped on the opportunity and quickly prepared for the meeting that they were currently late for.

As soon as the cab pulled up alongside the curb, both women quickly got out and dodged the rain that poured over the city. Bill paid the cab driver and ran towards the front door, meeting the women inside.

"We're a good ten minutes late," he told them as they shook the water off their clothing. The trio quickly stepped inside the nearest elevator and Emily let out a sigh as it began to rise. She took off her glasses and attempted to dry them on her sleeve when Louise passed her a dry tissue. The younger woman smiled her thanks as she rubbed the tissue over the lenses.

The door opened and Bill stepped out with both women coming up behind him. Emily could hear her water soaked shoes squeak as they made their way over the gleaming tiles. Finally, they stopped at an occupied desk. The young woman sitting at the desk merely glanced up at them and sighed before walking over to the large mahogany doors.

"They've been waiting," she said, in an irritated tone.

Bill cleared his throat and adjusted his tie before the door was opened. The young secretary walked in, as Mr. Fox was busy speaking to the conference table full of people. The man stopped when he saw the secretary at the door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Fox," she said. "The representatives from the medical clinic are here."

Lucius smiled and for the first time Emily saw the dozen pairs of eyes turn in their direction. Bill walked towards Mr. Fox, his hand ready and willing to shake. Mr. Fox met him halfway and shook his hand before introducing them to the members of the board. Emily and Louise began to hand out information on the clinic.

"I'm sorry that I'm late."

Emily heard the voice and glanced up through her glasses to see Bruce Wayne walk into the room.

"No worries, Mr. Wayne," Lucius said aloud as he sat back down at his place near the end of the table where Bill was setting up for the presentation. "We were just about to start."

Bruce nodded as he walked towards the last seat near the end of the table. His eyes met Emily's for a brief moment as she handed him the information. He smirked slightly, plastering on his trademark playboy smile. Just like the time when she had first met him in the clinic, Emily looked at him with disdain. She turned on her heel without a word.

Inside, she wanted to wrap her arms around him. It had only been days since she had seen him last but it might as well had been a decade.

_Damn you, Bruce._

"It seems that the details of the fundraiser have been prepared in advance," Lucius said, buying time as Bill finished setting up. "We're really hoping that it's successful. The Westview Clinic could really benefit from this outward assistance."

Bill smiled. "Yes, we're hoping for a success as well."

He watched as Emily walked up beside him. Louise took her spot at the table opposite from Mr. Fox.

Emily and Bill took turns explaining the mission statement, the history and facts of the clinic and how Wayne Enterprises could help them. Bruce skimmed through the small stack of paper in front of him before pulling out his cell phone.

"We work strictly as an after hours clinic. We're open for 12 hours, from seven to seven with two eight hour shifts. The shifts overlap between the hours of 11pm and 3am. This is when we see our largest influx of people. It is mainly those getting out of the bars, drunken fights, afternoon shift workers or when children suddenly spike a fever. The demographic of our patients are not only the low income and poverty stricken population of Gotham but we've also seen an increase in the middle class unemployed people who fear going into a hospital for a minor ailment and end up paying a bill that would take years for them to repay," Emily explained. She glanced back at Bruce as he looked down at his cell phone, skimming through something with his finger over the screen.

One of the board members, Fredericks leaned forward as he looked down at the paper in front of him.

"You said that you operate off of the donations of those that are able to pay for your services," he said, gaining Emily's attention.

"That's right," she stated.

"Then what happens when you don't receive adequate donations to operate?"

Emily smiled. They had been there many times.

"The clinic comes first," she replied. "We do a lot of pro-bono work. We've limped along well on our own for years but with more and more Gothamites loosing their jobs, our clienteles is becoming larger and thus so is our budget. We can't turn these people away because we can't afford to pay our hydro."

Emily looked at the board members, a few of them nodding their heads as she spoke while others read the information in front of them. One man, Bruce Wayne chose to use the time to text someone. Emily was certain that he was simply playing the role of an arrogant bastard but his actions were getting under her skin. So much so, that she could no longer look away and bite her tongue.

"Am I boring you, Mr. Wayne?"

She was certain that she heard a few gasps but she wasn't sure if they were from Bill as the man sent her mental reprimands the moment that he heard the words come out of his employee's mouth.

Bruce turned his cell phone over and placed it on the table beside the stack of paper.

"I was just explaining how funding from Wayne Enterprises could assist us in keeping our services operating for Gotham," she stated, her voice slightly annoyed.

Bruce cleared his throat as he looked up at Emily with a smile. "No Doctor. I don't think that you could bore me."

Emily let out an audible sigh before continuing the meeting.

Bill was upset. As Emily continued, he watched Mr. Wayne, fearful that the man would suddenly withdraw his offer for the fundraiser and even worse, cancel any future opportunity with Wayne Enterprises. To his surprise, Bruce said nothing. He watched casually as the man would watch Emily. He noticed how his eyes trailed southward as Emily turned slightly to change the giant information card on the stand.

Bruce Wayne was checking out Emily. Bill was certain of it. He knew that the man was a notorious playboy but the thought of him making any type of move towards Emily made him angry. He cared for her and wanted the best for her and Bill knew that Bruce Wayne wasn't it.

As the meeting wrapped up, Emily began to gather the giant cards on the stand while the members of the board filed out of the room. Emily turned back to see that Bruce Wayne had already disappeared along with them.

"You did a great job," Bill told her with a smile. She turned back towards him and smiled.

"Yes," Lucius said, walking up to them. "A great job. I'll get back to you on what the board decides but from what you have told me today, I can't see why they wouldn't vote in your favour."

"Thank you," Bill said, once again shaking the older man's hand.

"I'll see you at the fundraiser next month," Fox said prior to walking away from them.

Once Bill knew that they were out of earshot of any remaining board members, he turned to Emily.

"I can't believe what you said to Mr. Wayne," he said softly as Louise began to assist in picking up. "And then he had the audacity to look at you like that."

Emily turned, truly surprised. "Like how?"

"He was checking you out," Louise answered for him. "I've seen how some of the men who come into the clinic give you and some of the other women some improper glances followed by a muttering of profanity under their breath. The way that Mister Wayne was looking at you was no different. I'm only surprised that he didn't say anything after you called him out."

Bill shook his head.

"Maybe when you put him in his place, you also knocked some brain cells around in that billionaire brain of his," he said with a smile.

Emily smirked at the comment as Louise chuckled before continuing to pick up the remains of their presentation. Emily discreetly pushed her coat off her chair and shoved it beneath the table with a foot before helping the older woman to pack up. As they left the floor and stepped into the elevator, Emily suddenly feigned forgetfulness and that she was the only one without a coat. With the promise that she'd meet them down in the lobby in just a few minutes, she turned and quickly made her way back down the quiet hallway towards the conference room.

She felt like a criminal as she went past the conference room and the empty secretary's desk. She walked as casually as she could towards the executive offices. Emily wasn't about to leave the building with at least giving a kind word to Bruce, especially after her outburst during the meeting. Even though she was almost certain that he was playing a person, she had to reassure herself that he harboured no hard feelings towards her.

It wasn't until she saw that secretary walking down the hallway towards her that she felt that she would be leaving disappointed.

"Can I help you?"

The woman seemed a little irritated to find someone had gotten past her desk by the conference room and was now in the vicinity of the gentlemen who ran the company that she worked for.

"I had forgotten my coat in the conference room," Emily admitted. "I assumed the room was locked so when I didn't see you at your desk, I hoped that you were just busy down here."

"It isn't locked," the woman said matter-of-factly. She began to walk towards her desk, eyeing Emily suspiciously as she went.

"Doctor Tucker?"

Both women stopped and turned at the voice they heard coming from further towards the executive offices. Bruce Wayne stood at the doorway of his office, a hand on the doorknob. His face remaining neutral, he took a few steps out of this office, and put his hands into his pockets.

"May I have a word with you?"

The secretary looked at her, a slight smirk of delightful disdain pulled at her mouth as she sauntered happily back to her desk. No doubt, the secretary had heard about the outburst in the meeting and suspected that Mr. Wayne wasn't entirely pleased with being called out.

With a slight sigh of annoyance, Emily walked towards Bruce Wayne who stepped back into his office and waited for her to walk in before closing the door behind her.

It was then that she saw it - her coat resting against the backside of a leather arm chair.

Bruce followed her gaze and smiled.

"I was hoping that you'd come back for it."

Without another word, Emily reached up and put her hands on either side of Bruce's face before placing her mouth over his. Being caught pleasantly off guard, Bruce wrapped his arms around Emily's back as he began to claim her lips feverishly. Her hands found their way to his neck as she pulled frustratingly at his tie, attempting to loosen it. Bruce quickly found his heart rate increase just as Emily suddenly leaned back, breaking the kiss.

"I've missed you," she said, breathlessly.

Bruce smiled and licked his lips, still tasting the sweet cherry lip gloss that Emily had been wearing.

"I've missed you too," Bruce said softly.

Their lips met each other once again. A deep moan was heard, but both were uncertain as who had made it and neither seemed to care. All the pent up emotion and longing of the past two weeks exploded within one kiss and threatened to become more than just a kiss. As Emily realized that they were quickly moving into something more physical, she regretfully and gently pushed Bruce back.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

She shook his head.

"We can't do this right now," she said, softly. "My coworkers are waiting for me downstairs in the lobby."

Emily pushed her hair back out of her eyes and Bruce bent down to pick up her glasses that had somehow fallen to the ground. He gently placed them on her face and smiled.

As she realized Bruce was leaning back in towards her for another kiss, she put her hand up to his lips.

"Time to cool down, Mister Wayne," she said with a wink. He smiled against her hand before he fixed his tie. He let out an aggravated sigh and clenched his teeth, feeling the frustration.

"I have to work tonight and then I'm off for the weekend," she told him. "Come over tomorrow night and I'll make something special for dinner." She paused and added with a smirk. "We can make it our first official date."

Bruce nodded before he reached for her coat, and helped her into it. Emily pulled her hair over the top of the coat when she felt the piece of paper poke out of her pocket.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she said, as she pulled it out and unfolded the piece of paper before handing it to Bruce. "Here's that copy that you were wanting."

It truly was a copy of what they saw. Some pieces Bruce remembered while others he couldn't.

"I had to google a good portion of it," she said. "I didn't do too well in chemistry."

"This is a great start," Bruce said, folding it back up and shoving it into his pant pocket. "Thank you."

She noticed that he was no longer looking at her eyes but down at her mouth, as a smile grew on both their faces. She could almost read his mind until there was a knock on the door.

Bruce closed his eyes for a moment, wishing the visitor away as Emily tried to wipe the smile off her face.

"Come in," he finally said.

He let out a breath when he realized it was only Mr. Fox. Lucius stood at the door, appearing a little awkward.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting," he said, looking from Emily to Bruce.

"No, you're not interrupting, Mr. Fox," Bruce said, as Emily pulled her jacket closed around herself.

"I was just leaving," she added.

She looked up at Bruce for a moment. "Give me a call later if you're not busy."

Emily walked past Lucius and into the hallway before he closed the office door.

"I'm glad to see that you and Dr. Tucker are closer than I originally thought," Lucius said with a playful grin.

Bruce seemed confused at the statement until Lucius gestured to his mouth. It was then that he realized that remnants of her lip gloss was still evident on his face. Bruce merely shrugged and smiled as he wiped his mouth with a tissue from his pocket.

"I'm happy for you, Bruce. I really am," Lucius said, standing in front of the younger man. "It's unusual to find a woman who would support all of your endeavours."

Bruce smirked. "Unfortunately, with our work schedules, it has been keeping us apart. Today was the first time I've seen her since we were in Florida."

Lucius smiled and let out a light chuckle.

"Plus, we've decided to keep this relationship quiet for now," he said.

Lucius nodded with understanding.

"I hope that she does realize that it wont be kept a secret forever," he said. "People will begin to piece it together. For one thing, I haven't seen you so happy lately."

Bruce smiled.

"You have the face of a man who seems content with his life," Lucius said. "Don't let her get away, Bruce."

"I don't intend to."

Lucius paused for a moment.

"I heard that you were handed a lawsuit from Mr. Cooke earlier today. How are you going to explain the fact that Bethany Morris not only doesn't work for you but also doesn't exist?"

Bruce shoved his hands into his pockets and smirked. "I'm not concerned. They have no solid case anyways. If they even decide to bring it to court it would ruin Brian Cooke. He's just flexing his muscles."

Bruce's hands brushed over the piece of paper in his pocket and he quickly pulled it out, remembering what it was.

"Emily gave this to me," Bruce said, handing Lucius the piece of paper. "It is what was written on the white board at Genwerx. Could you see if you can make heads or tails out of it?"

Lucius took a good look at the copy and nodded. "I'll see what the computer can come up with." Lucius turned to walk away from him but stopped and spoke again. "She copied this from memory?"

Bruce nodded, shoving his hands into his pant pockets.

"Remarkable," Lucius commented softly to himself, as he smiled while reading the small notes and arrows around the piece of paper.

* * *

Saturday, April 28th 3am

So many places to hide.

It was not only one of the things he liked about the train yards, it was also one of the things Batman disliked most about them. He crouched above one of the smaller buildings around the area and looked down, putting the night vision binoculars to his eyes. He found a stray dog running weaving through the various cars. It wasn't until shortly after 3am that the place began to liven up a bit. The group was quiet; too quiet for train workers. Batman moved in closer.

"How many more of these?" one of them said as they climbed aboard the tall box car.

"Boss says at least a half dozen from this one and there should be a few more in the car ahead," a man replied. "Just make sure that you double check the stamps on them."

The group of men continued to climb into the box cars of the freight train.

Suddenly one stopped. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

The group paused before one of them began to chuckle.

"Come on man, this ain't funny. I heard something."

The sound of a loud train horn echoed in the yard. It was loud enough that it startled the fidgety man. He quickly turned, his heart racing. In the distance, the sound of an engine coming to life and then the rhythmic clicking of the cars echoed down the tracks.

A man suddenly appearing behind him caused him to jump.

"What's going on here?"

"Dr. Crane," the man said, stuttering slightly in fear. "I thought that I heard something."

"The kid has been watching too many horror movies," one of the bald men commented.

Crane rolled his eyes. "If I wanted you to freak out on me, I would've made it happen a long ago. Just open up the damn crate."

Crane held up the flashlight and shone it into the freight train.

Finally, the crate opened.

It was empty.

"What the hell!?" Crane exclaimed.

One of the men from the other car came up to him.

"The one in there is empty too," he said.

"They probably all are," another man commented, equally frustrated.

Crane let out a sigh. "Don't worry. I'll see what's going on with our shipments."

Batman watched as Crane walked away. If he was going to make any move, now would be the time. Slowly, he stood up and pulled out a small bat. Quickly, he threw it across the yard causing the overhead light to go out. He heard the men begin to make a commotion and Batman quickly dropped in among them. One by one, they all cried out as the felt a fist in their face or an elbow to their back. The men didn't even know what hit them until the poor nervous wreck of a man was the only one standing - the one that Batman thought would be the easiest to scare answers out of. Batman held the man by his collar as he peered into his face. The man shook as he began to beg.

"Pleeeease, don't hurt me," he bawled.

He screamed and squealed as Batman partially dragged him by the back of the neck through the darkness of the train yards. Finally, he pulled him up on top of a still freight train and dropped him to the roof. The man desperately tried to back up away from Batman, until he realized how high he was above the ground.

"I need some answers," Batman growled. "What is the shipment that Crane was waiting for?"

"I dddd-on't know," the man managed to stutter, as he cowered on the roof . "I was just given the job. I don't know anything."

Batman got right into the man's face, and lifted him to his feet by his ratty shirt.

"Where was it coming from?"

The man closed his eyes and began to cry out in fear again. Suddenly, his eyes opened. "Genwerx. Crane has a c-c-c-contact here in Gotham that he's ordering through."

"WHO?"

"I don't know who. It's a d-d-doctor though at some office in the city. I've never met the doctor."

The man began to cry again and Batman let out sigh when he realized that the man had wet his pants. With a grunt, Batman dropped the man to the ground and turned, disappearing into the night.

* * *

7:12am

Emily climbed up on a waiting room chair and flipped the switch to off on the old television hanging in the corner of the room. She let out tired sigh as she felt her body cry out. It was the end of another week. All she could think about was how soft her pillow would feel in an hour when she finally had the opportunity to lay down on it.

She continued to tidy up the waiting room and stacked the magazine's neatly on the table. Finally, she locked the front door and flipped off the light switch before heading into the staff room to grab her purse and coat. As she pulled on her coat, she heard a light tapping on the back door. Curiously, she opened the door. The man seemed surprised to see her.

Before he had a chance to say anything, Emily spoke first.

"We're closed," she told him plainly. "Unless it's an emergency, you're going to have to either head down to the hospital or wait until we reopen again on Monday night."

"I'm not in need of medical attention," the man said, eloquently. "I'm here to speak with Dr. Dravis."

Emily looked at the tall, thin man before calling for Bill over her shoulder. A moment later, the man appeared at the staff room door. She was certain that his pallor turned white the instant he saw the man at the door.

"This guy is wanting to see you," she told him, as Bill nodded.

"Yeah, let him in," Bill said, as the man stepped into the staff room and Emily closed the door behind him. Bill looked over at Emily. "If everything is taken care of, you can take off."

She looked at Bill's face. She had known the man for quite some time and knew when something seemed off. Emily walked over to him to pick up her purse off the table that stood beside him.

"Are you sure?" she asked softly. "I can stick around if you would like."

He smiled weakly. "I'm sure. You have a good weekend."

Finally, Emily nodded before taking her purse off the table. She glanced up at the stranger in the staff room. She made her way to the back door when the man turned towards her, holding out his hand.

"It was nice meeting you, Doctor?"

"Doctor Tucker," she replied, as she hesitantly shook his hand. The man smiled at her and it sent a shiver down her back.

"I'm Jonathan. It's nice to meet one of Dr. Dravis' friends."

Emily forced a smile onto her face. This guy was sending her a bad vibe and she glanced back towards Bill before she made her way out into the morning sunshine. She had never been so glad to get out of that place as she had been at that moment.

* * *

That Evening,

He had been in her apartment many times.

Hell, he had even broken in and placed bugs all over the place, so why was she acting like this was any different.

Emily had spent nearly every moment since the time she had woken up that afternoon, cleaning and tidying the apartment. Poor Freddie had no idea what had gotten into the woman. The cat nervously spent the afternoon and early evening in seclusion under her bed. Dinner was cooking in the oven and water was boiling on the stove and when she heard a light knock at the door, her heart jumped.

Taking a quick look in the mirror beside the door, she opened it and saw Bruce Wayne standing in front of her, a motorcycle helmet propped up on his head and a backpack on his back. Emily happily ushered him in and closed the door behind him, exchanging casual banter over the nice weather and the smell of the dinner that was presently cooking in her modest kitchen as he pulled the bag, helmet and jacket off his body. Emily looked at the backpack that he set by the door in confusion. Bruce seemed to notice. He unzipped a part of it and pulled out a wine bottle.

"Alfred nearly had a heart attack when I told him how I was going to be transporting this particular Merlot over here," Bruce said, handing her the bottle.

It didn't appear anything spectacular to her. She looked back at him. "Why?"

"It's a 73," Bruce told her. "I didn't buy it personally but Alfred informed me that it cost nearly fifteen hundred dollars for the bottle."

Emily quickly pulled the bottle to her chest, afraid that it would break.

"Holy crap, Bruce! Are you kidding me?"

He shook his head as he gently took it from her and placed it on the table. He reached forward and took her hands in his.

"And I told Alfred that Emily is worth more than one hundred of those bottles and just like her, I'd be very gentle with it," Bruce said, with a grin.

Emily let out a light laugh. "And what did he say?"

"He still made me swear that I wouldn't break it," Bruce admitted with a chuckle.

Emily and Bruce continued to share laughs and stories throughout the night. They eventually found themselves sitting side by side on the couch, each with a cup of tea in their hands and the TV displaying an evening sitcom. Neither one seemed to be paying much attention to it. Instead, they were just enjoying being in each others company. Emily had her feet propped up on the coffee table as Bruce put his arm around her shoulder. Bruce noticed that her mind was elsewhere as she sat silently beside him. For Emily to not have something to say for any amount of time was unusual.

"Is something on your mind?"

Emily turned to him and shrugged. "No, just tired." She looked over at Bruce, as the man took a sip of tea. "How is it that you're able to stay up all night and still be able to function during the day?"

Bruce smirked. "I try to sleep until the early afternoon most days when I've been gone all night. Sometimes it's later, but Alfred is a pretty reliable alarm clock and will make me get up if I sleep past a certain time."

Emily paused, realizing that they had never really openly discussed the other man in their lives; Batman.

"When you're...him, Batman I mean, are you ever afraid of what you might see or experience?"

Bruce leaned forward and placed his mug on the coffee table before sitting back and turning towards Emily. "I think there is a part of me that is afraid, but I get to the point where I don't allow that fear to control my actions or abilities. I'm in control."

Emily leaned back into Bruce's shoulder.

"I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," she said softly.

Bruce placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Nothing will happen to me."

Minutes passed until Bruce realized that Emily's silence was due to her falling asleep on his shoulder. He reached for the throw at the end of the couch and draped it over her body before slowly reclining on the couch. Bruce felt Emily move slightly with the gesture but as he relaxed, he heard her breathing relax along with him.

* * *

Michael whistled as he jogged up the metal steps, taking them two at a time. He knew it was late, but he was also aware that Emily seemed to be forever stuck on a midnight shift workers internal clock. When he was on the sidewalk he had noticed that her lamp in the living room window had been on. He knocked on the door.

"Emily!?"

Bruce awoke with a start, causing Emily to suddenly sit up. Both of them seemed confused until they realized where they were and what was going on. When they heard the knock at the door once again, Emily stood up but paused when she recognized the voice.

Michael.

"Emily! I know you're home!"

Michael had no idea the silent kerfuffle that quickly ensued in the small living room, involving the swift tidying of the room prior to Emily pushing Bruce down the hallway to her bedroom. Michael, meanwhile glanced out towards the road, and saw the same motorbike that had dropped Emily off weeks prior. A smile grew on Michael's face as he continued to knock.

"Open up, Em!"

After another minute, he heard the door begin to be unlocked as each dead bolt and chain lock was opened. Finally, Emily opened the door and smiled.

"Hi Michael," she said.

He looked at her with scrutiny in his eyes. "Where is he?"

The man pushed her door open to which she protested but Michael ignored and walked into the apartment anyways, finding the living room empty.

"Who are you looking for?"

He pointed out towards the window. "The guy who owns that bike on the street."

Emily smiled and crossed her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about, but there is no guy here that owns that bike."

Michael took a deep breath, smelling the aroma of a delicious dinner. He didn't say a word, but merely looked around. Her apartment was clean. The table was cleared and the living room was neat. His eyes stopped when he saw the bike helmet sitting against the wall beside the backpack. Emily groaned inwardly when she realized they had forgotten to hide it.

"Taking up motorcycles then, huh Em?"

Emily sighed, realizing that Michael knew she wasn't telling the truth.

"Where is he?"

Emily didn't answer.

"He's here, isn't he?"

Emily let out a sigh and smirked.

"This isn't funny, Em? You're in a relationship of some sort biker guy and you're not even letting me in on it. Is this something that I should be concerned about?" Michael stopped for a moment. "Do you even know this guy? For all you know, he could be covered in evil tattoos."

"Michael, he doesn't have any tattoos," Emily finally answered.

"How would you know that unless...?"

Michael put a hand up to his mouth in happy shock, as he looked at Emily. "Did you have sex with the guy?"

A smile grew on Michael's face when Emily hesitated.

"It's none of your business," she said, her own smile growing as she looked at Michael.

"You did! Now I just have to meet this guy who survived your icy exterior, because he must be something else," Michael said, as he sat down on the couch. "Who is he? Do I know him?"

Bruce stood in Emily's bedroom as he heard the conversation continue until the sound of his cell phone caught his attention and by the sound of it, the occupants in the living room. Bruce quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket, realizing it was Mr. Fox. He answered it.

"Mr. Wayne, I'm sorry for calling you at such a late hour, but I thought that you'd be interested to know that I came up with the details of that chemical equation for you," Mr. Fox told him.

Bruce ran a hand through his hair.

"What is it that we're dealing with?"

"The molecule affects the mind, much like Crane's fear toxin, but on a different level. This one would display symptoms similar to that of Alzeimers but the notes around Miss Tucker's drawing suggests that it also induces high levels of serotonin that would increase ones aggression and perhaps loss of inhibition," Lucius explained.

Bruce peered down the hallway and thought for a moment. He thought back to when Emily and Bill were attacked the night of the play.

"Are you at Wayne Tower right now?" he asked.

"I can bring you my data over to your place."

"No need, I'm in the city now. I can be there in about a half hour," Bruce said.

"Sounds good, I'll see you shortly."

Bruce hung up and shoved the phone in his pocket before walking slowly out of the bedroom and down the hallway. Michael seemed to have been in the middle of a sentence when he noticed Bruce's presence in the room as the man looked past Emily at the billionaire in the room. Emily turned, slightly surprised until Bruce spoke.

"I'm sorry Emily, but I have to go," he said, looking at Emily and taking a quick glance at Michael as he sat on the couch in a frozen stupor. "That call was for me and I have to get some work done."

Emily nodded. "Yeah, that's no problem Bruce. I understand." She followed him to the door and helped him pick up his belongings. Bruce leaned down and gently kissed Emily on the lips before puling the helmet over his head. He looked over at Michael before leaving the apartment.

"Oh, you did a wonderful job in The Pirates of Penzance. Great job!"

"Thank you," Michael managed to squeak out before Bruce left the apartment and Emily closed the door behind him.

Emily fully expected Michael to go on into a commotion of demanding explanations but what he did do, caught her completely off guard - he laughed.

"Bruce Wayne?"

Emily nodded. Michael continued to laugh as he glanced over his shoulder at the sound of a motorbike revving up and then taking off down the road.

"Bruce frickin' Wayne?! How in the hell did you ever snatch that man? I don't think there is a woman in the city that wouldn't love to be in your place."

Emily smiled and shrugged. "It just sort of happened, quite unexpectedly."

The smile on Michael's face slowly faded as a thought came to his mind. "So, that was you in the newspaper with Wayne in Florida, wasn't it?!"

Emily once again nodded as the smile on Michael's face reappeared.

"Are you going to give me the details on what happened down there?"

With a sigh, Emily turned and walked into the kitchen. Michael knew that it meant a no, but he knew her well enough to know that something did happen in Florida.

"So, how come no one knows about this?"

"Because we're keeping it quiet. I don't want our picture to be all over the cover a magazine like we're the biggest news in the city."

"But it is news Emily! You and Bruce Wayne?! This is big!"

Emily turned and shot a look at Michael. "And you're going to keep your mouth shut about it!"

Michael held up his hand, promising. "Scout's honour."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry for the delay. The start of school always seems to trip us up for a little bit. It seems that we have gotten into a good routine now so I'm hoping to be able to continue this. Thank you for all the messages that were sent to me. Honestly, they gave me the motivation to keep going with this when it seemed that there was no interest. I'll be having a few chapters coming out in a lump sum in the next little while. If I get more interest, I may pump them out faster. Thank you so much!

* * *

The fresh air did her a world of good. She wasn't the only one with the same idea.

As Emily locked the door to her apartment and made her way down the metal stairs, she noticed the once quiet streets of the winter months were coming alive in the warmer spring air. Emily had to smile as she jogged past a man on the sidewalk being cussed out by one of her neighbours from an apartment above. She passed another man who was a summer staple of being seen drinking a beer on his front porch while he read the Gotham Gazette.

Gotham had come out of its hibernation.

Emily was glad that she decided to wear a hoodie. The breeze was still chilly against her bare legs, but the added warmth from the sun was enough to keep her warm. She came to a stop by a street light, and waited for the light to change. Catching her breath and taking the opportunity at a quick rest, she turned and looked towards the financial district where the road in front of her seemed to head towards. In the distance, one of the taller buildings with the words Wayne stood stately over the city.

She shook her head.

Bruce was one of the reasons why she began jogging again. It wasn't just the nicer weather but it kept her mind off him. Her mind always seemed to be on Bruce lately. She wondered what he was doing, whether he was all right, why hasn't he called. She would try to remember how his cologne smelled, how soft his lips were and how he knew to kiss her right on a certain spot on her neck that sent goosebumps down her arms.

Emily mentally reprimanded herself and shook her head as the light changed and she crossed the street. She turned up the volume on the ipod playing music in her ear as she jogged into a large treed park in the middle of the city.

She was nearly oblivious to the people around her as the heavy beat of the music pounded in her ears. The park was busy with joggers, walkers and roller bladers. Nearly every park bench was occupied with someone reading a novel or newspaper.

A well-dressed man in a suit suddenly stood up from a park bench that she was passing by and he reached out, gently grabbing her arm. The touch startled her and she was about to throw a fist towards the man. Because in Gotham, anything can happen. Instead, a smile erupted on her face as she pulled the wires from her ears. Without a second thought to whom was around them or who would see, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Bruce neck and kissed his lips. Bruce was caught by surprise and quickly leaned back to balance himself as he put his arm around Emily's back. To a bystander, it would appear that they hadn't seen each other in months. The public display of affection caught the attention of those around them.

"I've missed you," she said softly after breaking the kiss, keeping her arms locked tightly around his neck.

A smile tugged on Bruce's mouth. "I've missed you too."

As though she suddenly realized where they were, she quickly let go of him.

Emily couldn't believe what she had done. She quickly looked around them, and attempted to act as though nothing had happened. She cleared her throat, pushed her hair out of her eyes and rubbed the sweat from her brow.

"So...what are you doing here?" she asked with a small smile.

"I wanted to see you," he replied, with a smirk. "I didn't anticipate such a nice welcome though but I can't say that I didn't enjoy it."

"I thought that you would be...sleeping or something right now," she said, attempting to use her best wording possible. Bruce caught the meaning and nodded, as he put his hands in his pant pockets.

"I should be," he said. "But if I did, I knew that I would miss seeing you run by at your usual time. You've been by here every day for the past three days now."

Emily's smile faded as she became a little confused. "How did you know that I would be here?"

Bruce didn't answer as he could see the wheels in her mind were turning and giving her her own answer.

"You've been following me?"

Bruce merely shrugged as Emily smiled and shook her head.

"I don't know if I should be flattered to have a stalker such as you or if I should be concerned with your new hobby," she said, with a slight chuckle.

Bruce smirked. "At least I'm a good looking stalker."

Emily scoffed and playfully hit him on the chest, allowing her fingers to linger on the edges of his suit coat for a second longer.

"I'd have to agree with you on that one."

"Emily!"

Her smile faded and her hand dropped to her side as Bruce took a quick step back. She recognized that voice and turned around just as Bill was running up towards her. Bill slowed down until he came to a stop a few feet from her. The man bent over and put his hand on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath for a moment before standing up straight.

"I see I'm not the only one who's out for a run today," he said as he stood up, looking at Emily.

"I didn't know that you had gotten back into jogging," Emily said. "If I had known, I would've invited you."

"Really?" he asked, somewhat incredulous as he looked over at Bruce.

Bruce took the moment to greet Bill. "Good to see you again Dr. Dravis."

Bill merely smiled and nodded. "You too, Mr. Wayne."

He regarded Bruce and his attire as he stood along the pathway, certainly standing out from the crowd of joggers and walkers that passed by them. Bruce's hair was perfectly placed, his suit was most likely incredibly expensive and his shoes were shinned.

"What brings you to this side of town, Mr. Wayne? I can't imagine that you're out here for a jog like us."

Bruce let out a slight chuckle, allowing a little bit of his playboy personality to drip from his lips. "A jog isn't my idea of a work out."

Bill put his hands on his hips. "So, you do work out."

"Occasionally. When I get the free time."

"Free time?" Bill chuckled. "If you're calling hanging out with the hottest supermodel in town, free time. I mean, I've seen you in the paper with a different woman every night. I can certainly see how they can take up your...uh, free time."

Bill chuckled as he spoke, glancing occasionally at Emily as Bruce merely grinned his playboy smile.

Emily cleared her throat.

"But you can't forget the work that he's doing for the clinic," she stated. "In fact, I was just speaking with Mr. Wayne regarding the fundraiser in a few weeks."

Bill looked from Emily to Bruce.

"Is that right?"

"I was informing her of a few guests that have cleared their schedule in favour of the fundraiser, such as the Mayor. If we're lucky, we may also be able to get the district attorney and a few city councillors on board as well."

Bill nodded. It still didn't explain to him why he had just witnessed one of his best doctors and ex-girlfriend wrap her arms around a man with whom she had a verbal confrontation with the last time they had seen each other. Bill was even more baffled when he had watched her kiss Bruce Wayne. He felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. The body language between the two before he jogged up to them was different than it was now, but he wasn't about to voice that knowledge when he was so close to getting that much-needed funding from Wayne Enterprises for the clinic. Instead, he just smiled.

"That's incredible," Bill said, trying his best to sound excited, and was certain that he had succeeded in displaying it.

As though on cue, Bruce's cell phone rang. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, checking who was calling him.

"I have to take this," he said. "I'll see you both later."

He walked away as he put the phone to his ear. Emily glanced at him for a brief moment before turning to Bill beside her.

With a smile, she began to jog with him beside her.

"I'm actually glad that I caught up with you," he said. "I wanted to speak with you about some things."

"Fire away," she said, as they passed some slow walkers.

"I'm going away for a day or two and I need you to take care of things at the clinic," he said.

Emily was surprised.

"Me?"

"You're the next qualified staff member that I have and you know the ropes of how we roll," he said. "It would only be for a few days."

"Why? Where are you going?"

"I'm just taking a quick trip out of Gotham," he replied. "I need to just get away for a bit."

Emily glanced at the man as they jogged side by side. Something seemed off. He rarely took time off. She slowed down to a brisk walk.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on," Bill replied sternly. Her questions were beginning to bother him. He didn't want to involve her but merely wanted to have her look after things while he was gone.

"Does this have anything to do with Jonathan who comes around the clinic? I overheard part of your conversation with him and I know something is going on that involves you."

Bill stopped and walked off the path as other joggers passed them. Emily followed and continued speaking.

"Because if you're in any type of trouble, I can find someone to help."

"I'm not in trouble," he stated, with clenched teeth as he continued to walk from her. "And I don't need any of your help."

"Bill, I'm just concerned for you."

He stopped abruptly and turned to face her.

"Are you? Are you as concerned for me as you would be for Bruce Wayne?"

Boom.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Bill scoffed and shook his head before turning back to Emily.

"I saw you and him a few minutes ago," he said, bitterly. "How much is he donating to the clinic for your intimate services? Because you do know what that would make you."

Without hesitating, she hit the palm of her hand against his cheek, letting out a loud slap. She wasn't certain if the tears in her eyes were from anger or from tha pain in her hand. Either way, she turned and began jogging away from him.

Bill put a hand to his cheek, feeling the sting and the red heat radiating from the mark that he knew would be there shortly. He looked at Emily's trailing form as he instantly regretted the words that had come out of his mouth.

"Emily!" he called out as he began to run after her.

She put the ear buds in her ears and simply ran faster.

Bill was a fast runner as well. Suddenly, she felt a hand grip onto her upper arm, forcing her to stop. The ear buds fell out of her ears as she turned her head to see that Bill had caught up with her.

"Look, I'm sorry," he pleaded.

"Get away from me," she seethed as she pulled her arm away from him. "Don't you dare touch me again."

She began to jog away once again as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Without wanting to stop, she pulled it out and read the text that appeared.

From: B. Wayne

- Need a ride?

She typed in three letters as she continued to jog towards the main road.

Y-E-S

Emily slowed to a walk as she made her way to the stop light. A flurry of cars within the rush hour traffic passed by her. She wiped the tears from her cheek as a dark blue Audi pulled up beside her. Quickly, she got in as the cars behind it began to blare on their horns.

Bruce pulled back into the traffic as Emily tugged on the seat belt. He glanced over at her, noticing she was keeping her face from him.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded.

She kept her eyes on the people as they passed by the dozens of business men and woman as they made their way down the sidewalk.

"He called me a whore," she finally said, her voice surprisingly weak.

Her sudden admission caught Bruce off guard.

"Who did? Bill?"

Again, she nodded.

"Not in those exact words though," she replied. "He saw us in the park and accused me of sleeping with you in order for the clinic to get funding." Emily held up her hand. It was red. "I slapped him."

Bruce smirked.

"He knows, Bruce," Emily said, softly. "And he's hurt. I don't know what he'd do or who he's going to tell."

The car slowed to a stop at a street light.

"You're more than welcome to stay with me for a few days if you'd like," Bruce offered.

Emily sat up straight and took a deep breath.

"I appreciate the offer Bruce, but I'm a big girl," she said, with a slightly smirk. He caught sight of her face, her eyes slightly red. "I can take care of myself."

He reached out and gently brushed her hair from her eyes with his fingers.

"I know that you can," he said. "But my offer still stands. You can think of it as the chance to see each other and make up for lost time."

Emily smiled and nodded.

"Swing by my place," she said. "I'll be needing to pick up some things."

* * *

Alfred hid an amused smirk as he watched Bruce Wayne carry in two medium sized suitcases from the Audi in the front drive. He stood by the door.

"Are you certain that she's only staying for a few days sir?"

Bruce shrugged, as Emily walked in behind him carrying a duffel bag.

"I'm so pleased to hear that you're going to be staying with us for a little while," Alfred said with a smile as he closed the door and walked with her up the stairs. "It can get very dull around here with just myself and Master Bruce."

"Are you saying that I'm boring, Alfred?"

Bruce glanced over his shoulder towards Alfred as they climbed the stairs.

"I don't think your life can ever be boring, sir," Alfred replied, with a wink towards Emily. "If there is anything you need while you're here, please let me know."

Emily nodded with a smile as they turned down a hallway. She was familiar with the area of the manor. It was where she stayed the first time she had visited a while ago.

It was there she realized that Bruce was walking past the room she stayed in before and was heading to his. She walked quickly and caught up with him.

"Bruce, please don't feel obligated to have me stay with you if you're really not wanting me to," she said softly, causing him to stop.

"I wouldn't have asked you to stay if I didn't intend for you to stay with me," he replied with a smile.

Alfred stood back and watched as Bruce began to fully allow someone into his life. She had seen his dark side and he was finally ready to show her the demons that haunted him as Bruce Wayne.

The older man cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the couple who were continuing to speak softly in the hallway before him.

"I'm going to head back downstairs," he said. "I'll have lunch prepared shortly."

"Actually, I need to get some sleep," Emily said. "I haven't slept since yesterday morning and I'm running on fumes."

"Of course," Alfred said, instantly understanding the curse of night-shifts. "I'll make sure to have supper ready for you later on."

Emily smiled. "Thank you Alfred."

She watched as the man turned to walk back down the hallway before turning to Bruce who had disappeared into his room with her bags. Emily walked in, instantly feeling like an intruder in Bruce's most sacred place. She saw him as he pulled the dark curtains over the large windows, quickly diminishing the light in the room, before he reached over to turn on a lamp beside the bed.

Emily had never felt so awkward in his presence. She glanced around the room, seeing photos on a dresser and on top of a large armoire.

"Are you sure that you're all right with all of this?" she asked.

Bruce turned and looked at her, concern etched on his face.

"Are you?"

She shrugged.

"Honestly, I feel just a little awkward being in here," she said.

Bruce looked around his room, and tried to imagine it from her standpoint. He saw the photo's of Rachel, a middle-school version of himself with his parents on either side of him, and another photo of just his Mom and Dad smiling happily. Bruce reached up on top of the armoire and grabbed the large family photo, dusting it lightly and lovingly with his hand.

Emily walked over towards him as he turned the frame towards her.

"You and your parents?"

Bruce nodded as he handed it to her.

Knowing that he was showing her a side of him that only a rare few had ever seen, she tread carefully as she gently took it from him. The boy in the picture was clearly Bruce. She saw those same playful eyes on occasion and the smile when it was genuine.

"You look a lot like your Father," she commented softly. She paused for a moment. "But you have your Mom's eyes."

Carefully, she handed it back to him. "They look like they were very happy. They must have loved you very much." She paused, looking at his expression as he seemed to study the picture. "It must have been very difficult to experience what you went through."

Again, he nodded silently.

"I'm sure that they would have liked you," he said softly. "My Dad was a doctor and although he worked at the hospital, I remember him doing a lot of free services for people. I could see himself getting into what you're doing for Gotham at the clinic."

"It's nice that you have a happy recollection of your parents, Bruce," she said, feeling tears coming to her eyes. "I think that's very important."

Bruce smiled weakly, knowing parts of her past.

Emily cleared her throat, forcing away the lump that was building. "So, was it their deaths that prompted you to become Batman?"

"Part of it was," he replied, setting the frame back on top of the armoire. "I was angry at the lack of justice that there was in the system. I left Gotham for many years, looking for answers."

Emily nodded, remembering the newscasts of when Bruce had suddenly returned to Gotham as mysteriously as he had disappeared years prior. Only then did she realize how it coincided with the beginnings of the large bat sightings that eventually gave way to the myth of Batman.

"It's a long story," Bruce said, with a sigh and a smile. "I can tell you all about it sometime, but it would take some time and I think right now, you need some rest."

He took her hand and led her towards the bed.

"What about yourself?"

"I have some work that I need to get done and then I'll be back," he replied, pulling the decorative pillows off the bed and placing them on a chair. "And believe me, I'll be quick and efficient because I want to be back here as soon as I can. I want to be with you, even if you're asleep."**  
**

A smile tugged at Emily's mouth. She reached out and took his arm as he pulled the last pillow off the bed. When she realized that she had his attention, she gently placed her hand along his face. She cupped his cheek before brushing her fingers into his hair.

The words were at the tip of her tongue, but she was afraid to say it. They were three simple words, but for her it meant so much more and she wasn't sure if she was ready to admit it.

Instead, she reached up on her tiptoes and placed her lips gently against his. It wasn't long before she felt him tighten his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him as the kiss deepened. Emily had no idea when he had wrapped his arms around her and she couldn't even remember how they suddenly ended up on the bed with Bruce beneath her as she straddled him at his hips.

All the fatigue and exhaustion that she had been feeling those minutes prior were gone. Her heart was pounding as she felt his hands run their way down the side of her body and over her back, pushing her top higher and higher. Bruce's fingers grazed her skin every so often, teasing her and causing her to audibly take in a breath.

Bruce was oblivious that Emily had pulled out his tucked-in dress shirt from his pants and slipped her hands under and onto his bare chest. It wasn't until she ran her hand across the side of his ribs that he suddenly gasped, instantly breaking the heated kiss.

Emily sat up and pushed herself off of him as he leaned up to sit, pulling up his shirt. It was then that she noticed the reason for his discomfort.

"Bruce! I'm so sorry," she exclaimed sincerely, seeing the large black and blue bruise that sat on the right side of his ribs.

He shook his head and smiled over at her. "It's not your fault. You had no idea." He looked down at the bruise. "It's not as bad as it was a few days ago."

Emily sighed, as she brushed her hand through her disheveled hair. Bruce seemed to notice Emily's silence and put an arm around her, pulling her towards him.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "It was a mistake I made a few nights ago that I certainly wont be making again." He paused for a moment. "At least I know a good doctor if I ever need one."

"No offence, but I don't ever want to be your doctor."

Bruce shrugged and smiled. "I guess I can be a bad patient."

"That's not funny, Bruce."

Bruce nodded. "Okay."

"Anyways, you need to get some sleep," Bruce said, standing up before he tucked in his shirt. "And I have some work to get done."

Emily stood up from the bed and smiled. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep after that kiss you gave me."

Bruce smirked.

"I'll be back shortly."

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Emily turned back to the empty room and sighed before opening her suitcase to pull out her favourite pair of flannel pajama pants and tank top. After a quick shower in the shower, she quickly changed and climbed into bed. The soft sheets felt like silk on her skin. She had to smile when she rested her head against the pillow and the smell of Bruce surrounded her. Emily thought it would be nearly impossible to fall asleep but soon found herself out cold within ten minutes of laying down.

* * *

"I didn't expect to find you down here, sir," Alfred said, his voice echoing within the walls of the large cave. "I assumed that since Dr. Tucker is here, that you'd be spending time with her."

"She's asleep," Bruce told him, as he kept his eyes on the computer monitors in front of him.

"That's something you should be doing as well," Alfred quipped.

"I will, soon. I just need to follow up on something first."

Bruce scanned over article after article involving the name Bradley Mattern. At the moment, he was the only name that he had to work with. Although Genwerx believed that the man didn't work for them, someone was using that name. He ran the name through the computer and sat back, watching as it began to scan various databases. Bruce leaned back and watched the screen change with articles and documents. He quickly sat up when a name flashed across the screen that had an association with Mattern. He paused the scan and flipped back until he found the document.

"What the hell?" he mumbled.

The news article was dated nearly twenty-five years prior, but it was the names that the computer highlighted below a photo of a small grade-school house league basketball team that caught his attention.

-left to right, Adam Murray, Bradley Mattern-Dravis, Derek Schultz, William Mattern-Dravis, Richard Zimmerman, Joel McLaughlin, Shawn Mattern-Dravis.

Dravis.

Bruce leaned forward, taking a closer look at the photo and instantly recognizing Bill in the photo and noticing the resemblance between the man, Bradley and Shawn. They were brothers.

Bruce sat back in his chair and sighed, taking in the new-found knowledge and thinking of the woman asleep upstairs who had been working with Bill Dravis all along. He decided that he would keep the information to himself. The less that Emily knew, the better.

He stood up and made his way upstairs, digesting what he had discovered. He silently made his way into his room, and closed the door behind him. Emily was asleep. After quickly changing and taking off his shirt, he slid into bed, noticing that Emily had kept to one side, and had pushed off part of the blankets off of herself. She was laying on her stomach with her face turned away from him and her hair sprawled over the pillow behind her. He could make out the old scar on her shoulder and noticed how well it had healed but then reminded himself how much time had passed since that happened. Bruce smirked as he reached down and pulled up the blankets, covering himself and Emily with them. He sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come to him.

Emily wasn't sure how long she had been asleep when she suddenly heard a sound coming from beside her. She opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling, taking a few moments to recognize where she was. Emily rolled over and saw a topless Bruce Wayne in the middle of a fitful sleep. His forehead was sweaty and he was mumbling incoherently. Occasionally Emily would hear her name escape from his lips. She pushed up slightly and put a hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"Bruce, wake up."

Her words did nothing.

She began to run her hand up and down his arm, hoping it would rouse him as she continued to speak his name.

"Come on Bruce, wake up."

His eyes suddenly opened and he quickly sat up. The swift movement startled Emily. She could hear him trying to catch his breath. Emily slowly sat up beside him, and carefully put a hand on his shoulder. The touch caught his attention. Bruce turned towards her, his eyes still filled with the same panicked fear that he felt in his nightmare. Gently, he reached forward with both of his hands, each touching her face and the other running down the length of her arm.

"You're all right," he said softly to himself. His eyes scanned her face and arms, needing to be able to see it to believe it.

"I'm all right," she assured him, as his eyes came back to hers.

He nodded with a sigh and laid back down with Emily. He had wrapped his arm around her, pulling him close to him. Emily put her arm over his chest.

"I'm not leaving you, Bruce," she mumbled softly as she closed her eyes, feeling the drowsiness return. She had no idea that the dream involved just that.

He smirked as he leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of her head. He needed to hear it. It had been a while since he had experienced a dream as vivid as what he just had. Bruce thought back and had to presume that the last time was shortly after Rachel's death where she'd come back and accuse him of failing her. This time it was different. It was Emily. He was lost in Gotham and he couldn't find her. He knew that she needed him, but he couldn't get to her. He was alone. He had always been content to be alone, but not anymore. The feeling scared him.

Emily let out a sigh and rolled over beside him, her back towards him. Bruce shifted to allow her to move away. He rolled over with her, bringing an arm over her torso to which she took his hand and pulled it close to herself.

This is comfortable, Bruce thought.

He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth radiating through Emily's tank top and onto his bare chest. Finally, he fell asleep.

* * *

Music.

Bruce wanted to bury his head under his pillow. He was sure that it was a new waking tactic of Alfred's. Instead, he groaned and rolled over. The sound woke Emily as well but she recognized it. Quickly, she climbed out of bed, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from.

"Is that the Hawaii 5-0 theme song?" Bruce suddenly mumbled.

"Sorry," Emily whispered loudly. "I thought the my cell phone was on vibrate."

Bruce rolled over, slightly aggravated at the noise until he heard a loud bang followed by the sound of Emily cursing. He sat up and reached over for the lamp on the table beside him. Once the room brightened, he saw Emily leaning against the dresser.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I stubbed my toe."

Suddenly, the music ended. With the light in the room, Emily unzipped the front pocket of her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She turned it on and frowned, seeing who the call was from and that there was a voice mail left.

"It's Bill."

Emily quickly accessed it and listened, as her face paled. Bruce saw the change and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"What is it?"

"Where's a television?" she asked.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Here's another chapter. I've been busy this week. It's probably because I've also been sick so what else is there to do when you're laying on the couch or in bed, right?

* * *

Emily and Bruce burst out of the bedroom and headed down the hall towards the nearest television. Bruce managed to pull a t-shirt over his head as he walked beside her.

"You're up!" Alfred said surprisingly before noticing their facial expressions. "I take it that you've heard the news."

"How bad is it?" Bruce asked, as he walked up beside the older man.

Alfred tipped his head to the side as they walked into a den. Bruce picked up the remote and turned on the television, instantly showing a live broadcast of GCN News.

"Not as bad as I would've thought but I think it's safe to say that your relationship is on the news," Alfred said, as they turned to the television. "There have been a good number of calls from Wayne Enterprises today. They've been inundated with calls from various news agencies asking for a statement and verification from you. They're wanting to know who Emily is."

A still shot of Emily wrapping her arms around Bruce in the middle of the park filled the screen. It quickly changed to one where they had kissed. A few more of herself speaking with Bruce and Bill. Thankfully, there were none of her slapping Bill.

"You'd think that they would ask for verification prior to making a report on this," Bruce said, bitterly as he turned up the volume.

_"These amateur photos were taken with a cell phone this morning. It would appear that Bruce Wayne has been getting a little friendly with this jogger."_

_"A little too friendly, I'd have to say," one of the woman newscasters commented. "I don't know about you, but that kiss is a little more than a 'hello, how are you?' kind of kiss. Something has been going on with our favourite bachelor. I'm going to guess that this is the same woman that we first saw a few months back when Bruce Wayne was spotted in Florida with a mystery woman."_

The screen changed to the fuzzy photo of Emily and Bruce in bathing suits on the beach in Florida.

_"How long has this affair been going on? Is it clear to say that Bruce Wayne has had a relationship with this woman for that long and has kept it quiet?" another woman asked._

_"It's a good possibility, Susan, but she doesn't appear to be the typical woman that Bruce would normally associate himself with. She certainly isn't recognized as a model, actress or another rich heiress that he has been seen with in the past," another woman added._

_"Would anyone like to guess how long a relationship like this could last?" a man stated._

_"It's hard to say. Oddly enough, this has to be one of Bruce's longest relationships. His usual conquests are short-lived," one of the woman replied._

The woman on screen laughed.

_"Short-lived is right," the woman said. "It makes you wonder what Bruce is thinking getting involved with a member of the general public. This woman is messing with a fantastic gene pool here!"_

The newscasters all laughed as Bruce quickly pushed the off button on the remote, deciding that they had all heard enough.

Alfred cleared his throat before he spoke.

"What should I say if Wayne Enterprises calls again?"

Bruce looked at Emily for a brief moment. She nodded as they exchanged a silent conversation. He could see that the words the reporters had said stung just a little. Bruce couldn't blame her.

"We'll discuss it and come up with something," he said.

Alfred nodded and smiled curtly. "Very well, sir."

The man turned and headed back down the hallway as Bruce and Emily headed back towards the bedroom.

"What did Bill have to say?" Bruce asked as he closed the door behind him.

Emily looked down at the cell phone in her hand.

"Just that he wanted to make it clear that it wasn't him who told," she said, as she sat down on the bed. She wanted to crawl under the covers and never come out.

"What do you want to do about this? It was only a matter of time until this happened."

"They still don't know who I am," she said softly.

Bruce sat down beside her. "No, they don't."

"But they have a good enough picture of us and also with Bill that it wouldn't be hard to figure out the association," Emily said, running a hand through her hair. "Besides, I see a good number of clients each night that any one of them could say something."

Bruce nodded.

"Slowly pulling off a band aid just prolongs the pain," she simply said. "I'd rather just rip it off and expose it for what it is before anyone else can make up rumours."

Bruce took her hand. "Are you sure? These people can be brutal."

"I'm sure," she said, as she nodded.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

Bruce had asked her over and over that evening after they had decided what they were going to do. Emily had to laugh, partly to relieve her own anxiety.

"Bruce, for the thousandth time, I'm sure."

They sat in the quiet Audi as it was parked in a lot a few blocks for a prominent club in a higher class area of the city. Emily was the one who decided that it would be best for them to be seen in public and Bruce chose the location based on where the media would be most likely to see them.

"And you look fine," Bruce told her, as he watched her pull down the mirror from behind the visor.

She smirked, still looking in the mirror. Emily finally closed it before turning to him.

"Ready?"

With a hint of hesitation, she nodded.

On either side of the car, the doors opened and both passengers stepped out into the early evening, spring air. Bruce met Emily in front of the car as he pressed a button on his keys, setting the alarm before he took her hand. Silently, they walked side by side until Emily let out an audible sigh.

"Why do I feel like I'm walking to the gallows?"

Bruce chuckled and squeezed her hand.

"I'll be beside you the entire time," he assured her.

Emily smirked.

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

Bruce smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist as they continued down the sidewalk towards the club.

It wasn't long until someone called out...

"Hey, there's Bruce Wayne!"

Within moments, flashes of lights surrounded them until all of a sudden, they stopped and the photographers frustratingly tried to get their cameras to work. Instead, the reporters who happened to be there began flooding them with questions. All the while, Bruce held onto Emily's hand. He glanced over at her a few times and noticed that if she was nervous, she wasn't showing it. She smiled politely. Bruce always knew it but in that moment, she looked even more beautiful to him.

"What's her name?"

"How long has this been going on?"

"Where did you meet?"

"Why the secrecy?"

Every gossip columnist wanted to be the first to know the information, so when Bruce was about to speak, the reporters shut their mouths in order to hear.

"I'm sorry to stay that I'm no longer available," he said, getting a few laughs from the people around them. For once, he felt awkward playing the playboy. It was probably the fact that he had Emily at his side.

The reporters turned to Emily, asking for her name. With a smile, she told them as they quickly jotted it down.

"Are you an employee of Wayne Enterprises?"

She shook her head. "No."

"You have been seen at Wayne Tower as well as when you accompanied Mr. Wayne to his business meeting in Miami," one reporter told her. Emily glanced at Bruce, inwardly wondering how these people knew this stuff.

Still, she smiled.

"I'm a doctor. I'm presently working as a general practitioner."

Again, they wrote it down.

"How did you two meet?" another reporter asked. "Is it safe to say that you're in love?"

Love.

Emily tried to hide the look of horror that suddenly filled her mind. Was she in love? She had no idea and no clue on how to answer it. Her mind quickly brought her back to the moment she cut Batman's jaw and the feeling of a pit in her stomach when she later was stitching up that same mark on Bruce Wayne's face. She had been terrified when she was piecing it together in her mind and somewhat disappointed to discover that the man who had saved her life was the same man that the media helped her to dislike for years. And then somehow that had changed. But was that love?

She looked at Bruce and smiled, allowing him to speak.

He shrugged.

"I'm sure it's just like any other story when a guy meets a girl," he said, flashing a smile, as he ushered Emily towards the door. "Now if you excuse us, we have a reservation inside."

Although he ended the conversation, that didn't mean that the reporters had to stop asking the questions. They prodded for answers to the most absurd of questions to the point that Emily just had to ignore them as they walked into the club. The dimmed atmosphere greeted them the moment they entered. Emily took in the elegance of the club as they followed a hostess to a private table near the corner. More than a few eyes turned in their direction. Along the way, Bruce and Emily stopped as he was greeted with a few handshakes followed by an introduction. These were the high-class society people that Emily would hear Louise or Janie tell her about at work; telling her about who was dating whom and what so-and-so was seen doing on the weekend. They all seemed fake. Not only their noses and bust sizes fake, but the way that they smiled at Emily when Bruce introduced her to them and explained her line of work seemed put on. The most realistic part of them was the jewelry they wore.

Emily was never so happy to have finally gotten to their table.

Bruce pulled out her chair, allowing her to sit before he sat down across from her.

"I'm sorry for all of that," he said softly. She wasn't the only one who could see through their smiles.

Emily shrugged as she took a sip of water from her glass.

"But there is one question that was never answered, that I wouldn't mind knowing the answer to," he added, leaning in towards her.

"Which one?"

"The one about being in love," Bruce replied softly.

"Bruce, could we talk about it another time, preferably somewhere else?"

Bruce glanced around them, seeing the dozens of pairs of the eyes that would travel towards them every so often. They were no doubt the subject of gossip conversations around the room.

"You're right," he said, grimacing. "Hopefully, the novelty will wear off soon."

"We knew this would happen," she reminded not only herself, but Bruce as well.

She reached for her glass of water and took a sip before picking up the menu in front of her. The silence between them was too much. She had to answer him.

With a sigh, she closed the menu in front of her and leaned forward.

"Bruce, I do feel something for you," she said, softly. "I'm not certain if it's love or not. I don't even know what love is supposed to feel like. All I know is that I don't want to say it if I'm not certain that I feel that way. You deserve someone to admit that they're in love with you, and I can't do that yet."

He reached forward and took her hand from where she held onto the menu.

"I'm willing to wait for that," he stated softly.

A smile pulled at Emily's lips as she sat back, letting go of his hand.

"And to think, I loathed you not long ago," she said, with a smirk.

"And I thought that you would be the worst thing that even happened to me," Bruce added.

"And then there was Florida," Emily said, with a smile.

"Florida," Bruce repeated dramatically. "Everything changed."

"No kidding," Emily said, taking a sip of water from her glass before she opened up the menu again. She was about to comment about the prices when Bruce's phone vibrated audibly.

Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled it out to read the text that showed up.

"Damn it," he mumbled, shoving the device back into his pocket. "I knew that this might happen. I'm so sorry, Em, but we have to go."

He stood up and took Emily's hand as she stood up beside him. Bruce led the way through the club, passing the same people they had greeted on the way in. To her surprise, Bruce didn't acknowledge any of them. He passed by the same reporters, again, not saying a word as they made their way quickly down the street. They walked towards the parking lot.

"What's the rush?"

"I need to get back home so that I can head back out again," he said, slowing down as they approached the Audi.

Emily climbed into the car and put on her seat belt as Bruce sped down the road. She looked over at him, seeing that a dark mask had fallen over his features.

"Who was the text from?" she asked, wanting to make conversation.

"It's a private line that is a direct link to the Commissioner," Bruce said. "I have to go meet him."

She looked out at the road in front of them as Bruce darted in and around vehicles.

"Will I see you before I head into work tonight?"

Work? Tonight?

It had completely slipped his mind that Emily was going to be heading back into Gotham later on that night.

"I doubt it," he replied, looking over at her. "But feel free to use the Audi to get to into the city."

Emily winced. "I'd stick out like a sore thumb with it."

Bruce nodded. "Take the Matrix then."

The moment they walked into Wayne Manor, Alfred met them at the door.

"I saw the message, sir," Alfred said, following Bruce towards the piano in the study. "Everything is ready."

"Thank you, Alfred."

Bruce played the odd combination of notes on the piano and looked up towards the wall where it suddenly began to move. He turned to walk into the hidden passage when he noticed Emily standing a few feet behind him in the study. Bruce paused for a moment and smiled. He turned and walked up to her.

"Be careful," she said softly as his forehead met hers.

"I will," he told her, just as quietly before leaning in to kiss her lips.

He reluctantly broke the kiss and backed up with a smile before disappearing into the passage. Alfred followed and stopped as Bruce stepped into the elevator that would bring him into the depths of the cave below. Bruce paused and looked to Alfred, who seemed to know what the younger man was thinking.

"I'll keep an eye on her for you, sir."

Bruce smirked before putting his hand on a green button. In an instant, Bruce disappeared.

* * *

Emily walked into the kitchen, hearing the sound of dishes clinking in the sink and the sound of a man humming a soft tune. He stopped for a second and turned, seeing Emily dressed in green scrubs, standing by the counter. Alfred turned and looked up at the clock. 8:47pm.

"Isn't it a little early for you to be leaving?"

Emily nodded. "I was going to stop in at home, check in on Freddie and pick up some other things."

Alfred smiled.

"How late does Bruce usually stay out till?"

The older man thought for a moment. "Most nights it's between 3 and 4 in the morning. Lately, he's been out until 6." He shrugged. "I guess it all depends on how busy he is."

Emily nodded, as she thought.

"Bruce said that I could borrow a car to get into town," she said.

"Of course," Alfred said, drying off his hands as he opened a cabinet behind a bread box that was full of keys. Each one was labelled. "Take your pick."

Emily shook her head. She glanced over at Alfred as the man turned back to washing the dishes. She carefully took a set of keys.

"Thank you, Alfred," she said.

"Have a good night at work," he called out as she walked out of the kitchen.

In the back of her mind, she felt guilty for what she was about to do. She made her way to the garage with a backpack on her back and scanned it for the bike. It wasn't hard to find. Bruce obviously had used it recently so it was nearest the front. Not wanting to make too much noise, she walked it partway down the front drive until the lights from Wayne Manor dimmed and she was left in the darkness. Emily straddled the bike and put on the helmet before turning on the engine. Within seconds, she was gone.

* * *

Her street seemed deserted.

Emily parked the bike on a side street behind her building before she made her way through the alleyway and up to her apartment building. She fumbled with the keys and pushed the door open the moment she turned the knob.

Freddie let out a loud, audible meow.

"Fred, it's just me," she said softly, as the cat came to greet her. "Are you hungry?"

Emily didn't bother to turn on the lights. She quickly pulled out Freddie's food and fed him before going into her room. Emily pushed open her closet doors, and then began to push aside the years of clothing that she had stored in it until she found a dark leather jacket. She tossed it onto her bed before pulling out a stored box. Emily dug through it and found her old black skinny jeans and a pair of black boots.

She quickly found a t-shirt and changed out of the scrubs she was wearing and into the dark coloured clothing. If she was going to be breaking into someone's home, the least she could do was look the part.

Emily looked at herself in the mirror as she tucked the bottom of her shirt into the pants and zipped up the jacket. She pulled her hair up on top of her head before she pulled the ski mask over her face.

A certain item seemed to stare at her as she prepared to leave. She could almost hear her Mom telling her as a teenager that having a gun was only a preventative thing and to never use it as a weapon. Shrugging, she reached into her closet and pulled out the small plastic case. She didn't even think it had been opened.

Carefully, she tucked it inside her boot.

She had to hurry if she was going to do this. Emily only hoped that she wouldn't get caught. The last thing that she wanted to do was to call Bruce from jail to have him come pay her bond.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you for the alert, reviews and messages. I appreciate them all!

* * *

Gordon leaned against the MCU's large rooftop maintenance shed, looking up towards the night sky. He had lost count as to how many times he had waited in his life for the Batman to appear. He took a small sip from his old travel coffee mug, quickly realizing that the coffee had gone stale. Gordon dumped the remaining contents onto the ground.

He didn't have to wait much longer as Batman walked out of the shadows towards him.

"We have a leak within the department," Gordon said, getting straight to the point. "I'm still trying to figure out where it is but my few trusted officers have discovered that this leak is helping Crane get his drugs into the city. It's happening right beneath our noses."

Batman nodded. It was a pity that even after so many years, members of the police force still could not be trusted.

"Did you get anything on Bradley Mattern, one of our homicides?" Gordon asked.

Batman nodded, handing Gordon the picture.

"Are these relatives of his?"

"Brothers most likely," Batman replied, as Gordon took a closer look at the picture.

"Mattern-Dravis," Gordon said.

"I've looked up the other two Mattern-Dravis' and only one comes up on record," Batman said. "William Mattern-Dravis. He works at the Westview After Hours Clinic and goes by Dr. Bill Dravis."

Gordon nodded.

"I know about that place," he said. "I'm going to a benefit for them next month. They sound like a good cause to support. I hope that this doesn't involve the clinic."

"I'm going to check out Dr. Dravis first," Batman said. "If I find anything unusual, I'll let you know."

"I'll get a warrant to check out the clinic and see if he's hiding anything there," Gordon said, as Batman suddenly turned and walked away from him disappearing into the shadows from which he appeared.

* * *

Emily looked down at the empty street far below her. The building certainly appeared taller than it was when she was standing on the ground. She was beginning to regret the decision to go through Bill's faulty-locking window rather than through the front door. It had been a good dozen years since her delinquent days of sneaking in and out of her Mother's home and she knew she'd be rusty at picking the lock. Since she had given Bill's his house key back at him a while ago, the window was her only option. She only prayed that he didn't take the time to get that window replaced.

Carefully, she turned her body on the rickety fire escape and managed to get her fingers beneath the lip. She pulled it up enough that she would be able to slink through the small space. Emily sighed, stepping onto Bill's made bed, hearing the springs protest under her weight. She climbed down and made her way into the hallway. The man always kept everything in its place.

Emily always found it amazing how he could afford so many nice things on a salary such as his. Still, she carefully made her way through the darkened room towards the small roll top desk where he kept his desktop computer. Emily slowly opened the cover and turned on the computer, quickly accessing his hard drive.

Files upon files of shipment dates, contents and correspondents with numerous people around the city. That pit in her stomach grew when she noticed a certain name - Jonathan Crane. Her mind flew back to the man she met back at the clinic.

How could she have not known?

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Bill?" she whispered aloud.

Emily pulled out the drive from her pant pocket and slide it into the USB drive and began to download the files and recent emails. She was determined to see if she could help him.

Her head suddenly turned towards the door when she heard it begin to click. Emily's heart began to race as she watched the files being transferred.

75%.

83%.

87%.

Emily mentally begged for the download to speed up. Her eyes darted from the computer to the door as her hand rested eagerly over the drive, wanting to pull it out.

98%.

Complete.

The moment the word came up on the screen, she pulled out the drive, flipped the switch on the monitor and ran down the hallway, closing the door to his bedroom just as she heard the front door creak open.

Emily stood against the wall, trying to catch her breath as she tucked the drive into her shirt, ensuring that it dropped safely into her bra.

The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the home followed by whispers.

"I don't think he's home," Emily heard someone say.

"Check the computer," another voice said. "See who he has been emailing recently."

Emily recognized the voice. Jonathan Crane was in the apartment.

"A number of files were recently copied," another man's voice said. "The device wasn't properly ejected."

"It was probably done in a rush," Crane suggested, as he glanced down the hallway, noticing the closed door. "Copy what we need and then destroy the computer."

Emily quickly climbed up onto Bill's bed before wiggling through the window. She winced, hearing the mattress springs creak under her weight.

"Somebody is here!" Emily heard him shout as she crawled out the window.

Quickly, she climbed up the metal ladder to the rooftop. Just as she made her way to the top, she looked down and saw one of the men stick his head out the window and look up just as she disappeared over the edge.

Emily clamoured onto the rooftop and ran towards one of the large HVAC units that sat on the roof and hid behind it. She peeked around it, guessing that the large man would probably have an issue climbing the rickety fire escape. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled behind the ski mask.

"There's no where to run!"

The sudden voice startled her. Emily heard a heavy metal door slam shut when she realized that they came up the indoor stairwell. She didn't dare look around the corner. Emily's heart was racing as she quickly ran through what she should do. She looked towards the edge of the building towards the neighbouring apartment complex rooftop, wondering if she would be able to make it across with a jump.

"I just want what you stole!" Crane yelled. "And then you're free to go."

Crane spun around, looking around the roof as he gestured to the two men to go in a different direction that him. In less than a second, a dark figure dropped from the sky, landing directly behind one of Crane's men. Before Crane could even say a word, the man turned around and came face to face with the Dark Knight. Crane watched the fight ensue and was pleasantly surprised to find that his man managed to get ahold of Batman from behind while the other man enleased a series of kicks and punches to the masked man's torso and head.

"My, my, isn't this a change," he commented happily as the man kicking Batman stopped. "I knew my new drugs made the users strong, but I had no idea that they would be stronger than you."

"I'm going to stop you, Crane," Batman growled, in obvious discomfort.

Crane let out a single mock laugh as he leaned forward.

"I'd like to see that," he drawled as the men continued to kick and punch mercilessly.

Emily kept herself in the shadows as she managed to get herself closer to the commotion that seemed to have distracted Crane. Her heart sank as she watched from the shadows as Batman took every punch and kick, letting out a groan every so often.

"You don't know how pleasing this is for me to watch," Crane stated, crossing his arms in front of him.

Emily heard Bruce cry out and she pinched her eyes shut; feeling every punch to her own stomach. She opened her eyes. A new darkness fell over them as she watched Batman continue to be beat upon. Emily couldn't stand by and watch anymore. She reached down and pulled out the gun that she had hidden inside her boot and tucked it discreetly into her back pocket.

"Stop!" she yelled out, loudly.

The new voice caught everyone attention on the rooftop. Emily slipped from her hiding place in the shadows and slowly made her way towards the group.

"Let him go!" she called out angrily to the man holding Batman from behind. She turned to Crane, holding the USB drive in her hand. "And you can have this! It has everything that I downloaded"

Crane smiled and laughed. "My, my," he cooed. "You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. I just can't decide." He paused for a moment. The smile on his face faded. "Give me the USB drive and I'll consider it."

"No!" she yelled back, forcefully. "Get your guys to back off and you can have it."

She watched Crane tip his head to the side. The wheels in the former psychiatrists head were obviously turning. A smile grew on his face.

"Why would someone risk their life and an item they had just stole for someone such as the Batman? I know of only one reason."

Crane glanced over at his men and nodded as one of them kneed Batman in the chest. She heard Batman let out a groan as she watched them continue to beat him. Without another thought, she pulled the gun out from behind her back, aiming it directly at Crane.

"Let him go!" she growled.

She heard Crane sigh as he nodded to the men holding onto Batman. "You certainly know how to ruin someones fun."

The man behind Batman suddenly let him go, allowing the Dark Knight to slump to his knees. Emily watched carefully as the two men walked towards Crane. She stepped forward placing herself between Batman and Crane.

Crane held out his hand. "Now, your part of the bargain."

Emily walked towards him, holding the small chip in her fingers, and kept the gun trained on him. Once she dropped it into his open hand, she barely had enough to time to register that his other hand reached forward and before she knew it, she was coughing and gasping in a thick gray haze.

"I think I've decided," she heard someone whisper close to her. "You're stupid."

Fearfully, Emily held out the gun in front of her, ready to shoot anyone or anything that came close. She continued to cough, as the haze seemed to disappear around her. She heard yelling but for some reason, she still couldn't see it.

She gasped as an image suddenly came in her view.

"Stay back!" she exclaimed, attempting to keep her hands from shaking. A hand suddenly clasped over her own, taking the gun from her hands and crushing it in a fist.

Emily could barely look. The eyes seemed to glow and the blackness of a face that never seemed to end.

Before she knew it, something had wrapped itself under her arms. She felt her feet leave the ground. Emily pinched her eyes shut. The height and speed at which they were climbing was too much for her mind to absorb.

Once they had reached the rooftop of a higher building, Batman dropped the woman to the ground, allowing her to fall to her knees as she dealt with the fear that infested her mind.

Batman could hear her ragged breathing as he sighed, walking towards the ledge to look for the tumbler to come to their location. He wasn't impressed with what happened. To him, that woman was a fool doing what she did for him, let alone get herself drugged by Crane. Batman wasn't in the mood to inoculate her and then leave her somewhere for Gordon to get.

When he heard gasping, he turned to the woman, seeing that she had pushed herself up to stand against a chain-link fence that surrounded high voltage electrical equipment.

Emily couldn't breathe. The hallucinations were causing her to hyperventilate and she had trouble catching her own breath. She roughly pulled the ski mask off her of her head and threw it to the ground, hoping it would help her get a breath.

"Bruce," she begged between breaths, her voice barely audible as she leaned her head against the fencing. "Bruce, where are you?"

Batman didn't want to believe what he was seeing. In the moonlight, he made out her face and he stood in shock, seeing a woman he didn't expect to see. Emotions coursed through him; shock, confusion, anger, fear.

"Emily?" he asked softly, walking towards her.

Emily heard the voice and turned towards it. Her face was beaded with sweat and white as a sheet. But the sight in front of her didn't match what she would expect. Fearfully, she backed up.

"Leave me alone," she cried.

Batman could see the fear in her eyes. He looked around, seeing as they were alone on the rooftop, some thirty storeys in the air. He pulled the cowl from his head.

"Emily, look at me," he said, still slowly walking towards her. "It's me, Bruce. I can help you."

He saw her glance at him before she pinched her eyes shut, fighting her mind on what was reality and a hallucination.

She held onto the sides of her head and slid to the ground.

"Make it stop!"

A few feet away, Bruce crouched down to the ground and kept himself at her level.

"I can," Bruce said softly, holding out his hand. "Give me your hand and I'll help you."

Emily looked back towards Batman's outstretched hand, seeing the bony fingers protruding from the black, oozing slime of a glove. She shook her head.

"I can't."

She wasn't believing him.

"What you're seeing isn't real," he tried to tell her. "You've been poisoned by Crane. I have an antidote to help you, but you need to trust me."

Emily stared at Bruce, as she shook nervously.

"I trust you, Bruce," she concluded, as Bruce nodded.

She looked back at his hand, and slowly reached forward. Bruce could hear her repeat, 'It's only Bruce', over and over like a mantra until she finally grabbed his hand.

He stood up and pulled her up to stand with him. To his surprise, Emily wrapped her arms tightly around him. He pulled the cowl back over his head.

"Hold on tight and don't look," he said to her before he jumped off the ledge.

He heard Emily gasp, as her grip on him tightened even more. Her body trembled in fear.

She felt the wind whip up the side of her body like a hundred little fingers running their hands up her back. Still, Batman's firm arm around her felt secure. It was a good reminder of who was with her and kept her focused on what was real.

Within seconds, she found herself being placed inside the tumbler and the door closed over her. The lights inside the tumbler lit up Batman's face as he once again pulled the cowl from his head. He reached above them into a compartment and pulled down a small canister. Bruce quickly opened it, all the while listening to Emily's panicked breathing.

"What is that?" Emily suddenly gasped.

Bruce caught her eye, as he pulled the small syringe from the canister.

"Something I keep around for days like today," he grumbled, pulling off the cap.

He turned to Emily, holding out his hand. "Give me your arm."

With more than slight hesitation, Emily slowly held out her arm before Bruce pressed the syringe against her skin.

Now that he knew that Emily would be fine, Bruce found his concern and fear were now turning to anger. He tossed the syringe back inside the canister before firing up the tumbler's engine and took off down the road. He didn't say a word for the entire ride back.

* * *

Emily stood a few feet away, disgruntled that Bruce continued to avoid conversation with her. She watched as Alfred tended to the bruised ribs and finished wrapping a bandage around Bruce's chest.

She crossed her arms and sighed just as Alfred turned to her.

"Thank goodness you're all right and that you were there to help Mr. Wayne," he said softly.

Bruce heard Alfred's words of gratitude to Emily as he slipped off the table and carefully pulled a t-shirt over his head.

She smiled lightly to the older man before glancing back at Bruce, as he turned his back to her.

"I only wish that certain other people would feel the same way about help," she said, her words a little louder in order for Bruce to hear them.

She watched as Bruce quickly turned, that same darkness of Batman never seemed to have left his face after he removed the cowl a half hour earlier.

"What the hell were you thinking!? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Bruce stated loudly, attempting to keep his temper in check. Those were the words he wanted to yell the moment she was more alert and the antidote to the toxin had kicked in. Instead, he was brewing until he couldn't keep it in any longer.

"But I didn't," she snapped back at him. "I got what I wanted."

She slammed the USB drive onto the table beside him. He stared at it, confused.

"There was two. I gave an empty one to Crane," she explained. "I kept the good one."

Bruce was pleasantly surprised, but it didn't appease his anger.

"You broke into someone's home..."

"What? Now there's a problem with breaking and entering? You seem to do that on more than one occasion," Emily quickly retorted.

Bruce took a deep breath, knowing that he was on the verge of exploding. The woman, and the source of his frustration was standing defiantly in front of him with no indication of backing down.

On the street, he was used to using his intimidation to get people to do things for him, but Emily appeared to be impervious to it.

"This is different," he said, his voice struggling to remain quiet. "You knowingly put yourself in danger."

"I had a feeling that Bill was in trouble," she said. "I had to find out why. I knew where he kept things in his apartment. I just happened to be there when Crane and his men arrived."

"Did he see your face?"

"No."

Bruce finally let out a breath, but said nothing.

"You're welcome," she said sarcastically.

Bruce shook his head. "What if I didn't show up? What would you have done?"

Emily rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I would have done something."

"Really?"

Emily nodded. In a swift movement, Bruce grabbed her wrist, pulling her forward before her feet flew out from under her, sending her to the ground. Emily landed flat on her back.

"Master Bruce!" Alfred exclaimed, watching as the woman laid on the ground, gasping as the wind had been knocked out of her.

"Bruce! What the hell!?" she exclaimed, as she pushed herself up to sit. "What is wrong with you?"

"You have no skills whatsoever!" Bruce stated, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up to stand. The volume of the conversation had increased once again. "Those men would've killed you without thinking twice! And you're lucky that it was only fear toxin that you were drugged with."

Emily sighed, exasperated with Bruce.

"Then go ahead and train me!"

He shook his head.

"Why not? Are you afraid?"

"You're damn right that I'm afraid," he stated, his face inches from hers. "I'm just as afraid as I was tonight realizing it was you that was with me on that rooftop, knowing that if I hadn't arrived when I did, you could have been killed." He paused, his voice growing softer. "And that scares the hell out of me. I'm not going to teach you if that means that you could be putting yourself in danger."

"Who says that I'm going to be putting myself in danger?!"

"I know you, Emily!" Bruce exclaimed. "I know that you just can't leave things alone. You told me yourself. You could have told me your suspicions about Bill but instead you thought you had to do this yourself. You knew exactly what you could be getting yourself into."

Emily sighed, looking down at her watch and noticing the time. If it wasn't time for her to leave, she wouldn't have given up so easily.

"I'd love to continue this, but I have to get to work," she stated. "They're going to be wondering where I am."

She turned and headed towards the lift to bring her up to Wayne Manor.

"I don't think that is a good idea," Bruce called at her.

Emily turned on her heel, crossing her arms. "And why's that?"

"If Bill is involved with whatever Crane is doing, I don't want you to be near the clinic," Bruce yelled towards her.

"I grew up in this city for the past 30-something years and I never needed a hand to hold and I don't need it now," she yelled across the cave at him. "Stop trying to control everyone and everything around you, Bruce!"

Emily paused, uncertain if he heard or whether he was simply choosing to ignore her. Either way, she turned abruptly and continued on her way to the elevator.

"Don't forget to pick up your bike. It's three blocks west of Bill's apartment."

The sound of the metal cage of the elevator closing echoed within the cave and even managed to disturb a few of the inhabitants who gave out a screech of protest.

Bruce had turned towards the computer monitors. He did hear what she had said. He figured that if she wasn't going to listen to his point of view, there was no point in carrying on with the discussion, or argument.

He was also well aware of Alfred's quiet presence in the cave and knew that the man had heard the entire conversation. Anyone and anything in the cave would have heard it.

"Am I wrong in what I said?"

Alfred shook his head. "I'm not about to get in the middle of your feud with Dr. Tucker."

"She's wanting me to teach her what I learned in Tibet," Bruce said, waiting for the upload to complete. "That took years. She's tenacious. She'd want to learn more."

Bruce turned to Alfred.

"Gotham is becoming more and more dangerous it seems," he continued. "The first time I met her was during a mugging. If she knew more on how to protect herself, I wouldn't have been needed."

"You cannot spend your waking hours trying to protect Emily, in fear that something could happen to her," Alfred stated.

"I can't lose her Alfred," Bruce admitted, looking up towards the older man. "I couldn't go through that again."

Alfred nodded. "Then, I believe that you just came up with your own answer, sir."

* * *

"When were you going to tell us?" Louise said, standing up from her desk, the moment she saw Emily walk through the back door.

Emily wasn't about to play dumb as she knew that this woman would know anything and everything about the life of Bruce Wayne.

So, she shrugged. "Bruce Wayne is not a topic that we would usually talk about."

"You're going out with him!" Louise said excitedly, attempting to keep her voice low. "This is big news, especially for you. I assume Bill knows from seeing his photo in the newspaper. How did he take it?"

"We haven't been together in a long time," Emily said, thinking back to his reaction. "I doubt he's bothered by it. Besides, he's over our breakup."

Emily hung up her purse and tucked the keys to Bruce's Matrix into a pocket. She picked up her lab coat and put it on.

"I was trying to call you earlier, but there was no answer at your place," Louise said, as she watched Emily pin on her name tag and grab her stethoscope.

"I haven't been at home for the past day or so," she replied, walking back towards the front desk.

A smile threatened to pull at Louise's face as Janie walked over.

"So, what's he like in bed?" Janie suddenly blurted out as she put down a stack of files on the desk. Leave it to her to ask the obvious.

Emily laughed as she picked up one on the top. "I'm not having this conversation with you."

"But did this happen before or after the meeting at Wayne Tower?" Louise asked.

Emily opened the file and began to read the notes, keeping her eyes on the paper. "Before."

"Ha!" Louise exclaimed happily as she slapped her hand against the table. "I knew something was up by the way he was looking at you."

Janie smiled broadly. "Emily, I'm so happy for you!" she said excitedly. "When you're done with him, you can pass him along to me."

Emily let out a single mock laugh. "And what if I decide to not let him go?"

She picked up the file and walked towards the waiting room to call for her first patient as the other two ladies shared a smile.

Emily stepped through the large door and into the waiting room. She tried to be oblivious to the smiles and whispers that circulated throughout the small group of patients.

"Ellie Dubkov," she called. Emily scanned the room for the familiar woman. An elderly woman carrying a portable oxygen tank slowly stood up and made her way towards the door that Emily held open.

"Sorry about that wait," Emily said, as she led her into a room and closed the door behind them. Ellie slowly sat down, and let out a sigh once she was sitting in the seat.

"How is your arthritis treating you this month, Mrs. Dubkov?" Emily asked, bringing her stethoscope down from around her neck before she sat down on a stool opposite the older woman.

"Some days are better than others," she replied, placing her purse on her lap. "I just wish this old hip of mine wouldn't cause me so much grief, but I guess that's what happens when you get older like me."

The woman chuckled lightly as Emily smiled, putting the ear pieces of the stethoscope into her ears before leaning over the older woman to place the other end onto her back.

"And how about the breathing? You must be feeling the pollen with the season change," Emily stated, as the woman nodded.

Ellie took some breaths as best as she could and glanced over at Emily as she concentrated on what she was hearing.

"I saw you on the news," Ellie said softly.

Emily smiled weakly. "I'm sure most of Gotham has now."

"I'm sorry for what they've been saying," she added, placing a gentle hand on Emily's knee. "No matter what they say, I think that you're perfect for that man. What he needs is someone to keep him grounded and I think you're it."

"Thank you, Mrs. Dubkov."

Emily reached over and grabbed the file off of the counter.

"I was married for 53 years when my husband, Karl suddenly passed away," Ellie said. "He was one of the best decisions I had ever made."

Emily rested the stethoscope on her lap and looked up at Ellie.

"Can I ask you something that wont leave the room?"

Ellie nodded with a smile. "Of course, hun."

"How did you know that you loved him? Was it something he said or did?"

Ellie smiled knowingly. "I would've done anything for Karl. I'd even die for him if it came to it. I just couldn't live without him. I have no idea how I've lived these five years without him."

Emily's mind travelled back to that rooftop as she had watched Batman being beaten repeatedly before she came out from her hiding place, risking her own life for his.

"You'll know without a doubt in your mind," she added.

The woman leaned forward and placed a hand on Emily's knee.

"Do you love him?"

If it had been anyone else than Mrs. Dubkov who regularly visited her at least once every month for the past two years, she would've kicked her out of the examination room. Emily had heard stories from the older woman on what her grandkids were up to and what plans for every holiday entailed. To some degree, she felt as though she already knew most of the woman's family and Emily had disclosed parts of her life to Ellie as well.

"That's the thing. I really don't know. You say that I would know without a doubt, but I think that I'm just afraid of taking that step and admitting it," she replied.

"One of my favourite authors, C.S. Lewis said that 'to love at all is to be vulnerable'. You've placed your heart in a box for so long that your own fear of having it broken is holding you captive. You need to discover if you can trust him with something as precious as your heart. Then you'll know."

"How?"

The older woman smiled and shrugged "Get creative."

A knock on the examination room door caught both women by surprise. Emily smiled and quickly stood up and opened it,seeing Janie looking at her anxiously. The look on the woman's face made Emily's expression fall.

"Louise needs you," she said, softly. "There are some police officers in the waiting room."

Emily excused herself from Mrs. Dubkov as she went towards the waiting area, meeting Louise along the way.

"They're wanting to speak with whomever is in charge, and since Bill isn't here..."

Emily nodded, patting the woman on the back before pushing open the double doors into the waiting area. The waiting area was vacant except for Mrs. Dubkov who slowly made her way out. Most were probably frightened away by the group of officers invading their place of sanctuary or suspected they were involved in something criminal. She saw the small group of five officers, one of which was dressed in a simple coat and pants.

"Dr. Bill Dravis is the coordinator here but he isn't here. I'm Doctor Emily Tucker. Can I help you?"

The one with a coat and pants nodded as he adjusted his glasses. Emily recognized him, but she wasn't certain from where until he introduced himself.

"I'm Commissioner Gordon," he said, handing her an envelope. "I have a warrant here to search the premises."

Emily opened the envelope and looked inside, pulling out the document.

"On what charge."

"We have reason to believe that Dr. Dravis has been involved in a drug deal. We just need to gather any evidence that may be here."

Emily wasn't very surprised to see this happen. With a nod, she pushed open the double doors, allowing the officers behind Gordon to walk through.

"His office is the first one on the right," she told them as Gordon passed through and walked beside her.

"It's locked," one of the officers said.

This time she was surprised. His office was usually not locked. There wasn't anything of value in the room. Emily went back to Louise's desk and pulled out the master key. She handed it to the officer by the door. They opened the door.

"Sir, it's empty," the officer told Gordon.

"What?"

Emily peeked over the officers seeing that the room had been cleared, except for the large desk and the filing cabinet. With a glove, Gordon opened the drawers, finding them empty as well.

"It wasn't like this when we left this morning," Louise commented. "Someone must have come in during the day and cleared it out."

"Dust for prints," Gordon said, allowing the other officers to walk in before approaching Emily in the hallway. He pulled out a small notepad.

"Do you know where Dr. Dravis is?"

Emily shook her head. "He didn't tell me. He asked me to take over his responsibilities here for the next two nights but he didn't say anything more than that. Have you checked at his home?"

Gordon nodded. "We've already been there. Does he have a cell phone number?"

Emily told him the digits as Gordon wrote them down and also asked for her number, so he could ask any other questions. He pulled out a small card and handed it to her.

"If you hear from him, give me a call," he told her.

Emily nodded as she placed the card in her pocket before Gordon re-entered the empty office.

* * *

Emily returned to Wayne Manor just as the sun was straining to peek through the clouds on the horizon. There was an anticipation for a morning rain at nearly any given moment. The smell was looming in the air. It was a fresh spring air that hung over the courtyard as the buds were growing larger and larger every day on the trees around the property. She walked up the dozen or so stairs to the front door, feeling incredibly small with the large home looking down at her.

She was about to knock on the door when a voice startled her from behind.

"I was starting to think that you weren't going to come back."

Bruce stood on the bottom step, and looked up at Emily. She appeared exhausted and she was still clad in her scrubs. Bruce didn't look much better. He looked up at her wearing a light blue t-shirt and jeans. His fingers had evidence of oil or dirt on them. Emily assumed he came from the garage as she pulled up. Emily slowly made her way down the steps.

"Why's that? Because we argued? It seems to be something we do well. But it doesn't mean that I wouldn't come back."

Bruce nodded. "I thought that maybe you would need more time to yourself."

She shook her head. "I stopped at my apartment before coming here. I realized something last night when I was at work. I can argue with you and not be afraid of what you'd say or whether you'd walk out on me. You mean more to me than I ever thought you possibly could and that scares the hell out of me. It has always just been me. I've only ever had to look out for myself."

"I can relate to that."

"But I don't want it to just be me."

Emily looked back at the Matrix in the driveway.

"So, I put the most if not all of my things in that little car," she said. "I think pretty much everything I own, minus my furniture is in there."

A smile erupted on Bruce's face as he looked at the Matrix with items up to the ceiling in the backseat and a pile of other things on the front seat.

"You seriously have everything crammed into that car?"

Emily winced. "Surprisingly so."

Emily took a deep breath and smiled, realizing that she was putting herself out to be disappointed. In her mind, she was putting out a piece of her heart. "So, I'm ready to make a step, if you are.

"What? You mean move in here?" Bruce asked.

Emily nodded, shifting in her place slightly. "Basically."

She watched as Bruce walked towards the car. He was in awe that this woman in his driveway had packed all of her things into the tiny car. Bruce opened the car door and saw Freddie peek his head out from beneath the seat.

"Yeah, about Freddie," Emily began. "I didn't know what to do with him, so I just tossed him into the car as well. I not sure if I was really thinking when I was doing this, but I'm thinking clearly now and you can't leave me like this without an answer."

Bruce closed the door and walked over to her.

"If you're not ready for this, I can just bring my stuff back into Gotham because this is..."

"Emily," Bruce said, interrupting her.

"Yeah."

Bruce smiled.

"I'm talking too much again, aren't I?"

He nodded. Just as he did, Bruce felt a rain drop hit him on the cheek.

And again.

And then once more.

The rain suddenly fell like a sheet over them, instantly drenching them from head to toe. Bruce began to jog towards the front step. To his surprise, Emily didn't move from where she stood.

"I'm not going inside until I get an answer," she called out.

Bruce laughed. "You're crazy!"

"Well, crazy loves company!" she exclaimed with a smile.

Shaking his head, Bruce made his way towards her in the rain. He noticed her shiver slightly as he approached her. Bruce gently pushed a wet strand of hair away from her face.

"You're amazing," he said softly. "And very stubborn. But those are just a few of the things that I just love about you."

He smirked.

"I love you."

Emily was speechless. If she had been crying, no one would've known with the amount of water that was pouring down over them.

In an instant, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him.

"Come inside," he said softly, over her. "We can bring your things in later once the rain calms down."

"I guess that I don't have to go back to my landlord about taking back my two-week notice on my apartment," she said softly, as she walked towards the door with Bruce's arm around her waist.

Bruce stopped as they reached the top step by the door and turned to her, looking puzzled. "You already gave a two-week notice?"

Emily nodded as she ran her fingers over his wet hair. A smile erupted on Bruce's face as he leaned in to kiss her.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N - Thank you for the reviews and alerts. It makes me happy to know that someone is enjoying reading this as much as I am having a good time writing it. OH, and I really appreciate the PM's too...even if I didn't get a chance to respond to them.

* * *

Bruce walked in the room, carrying the last box that had been shoved inside the small Matrix and he put it down. He looked around the room, seeing the pile of boxes, a large garbage bag of clothing and the extra suitcase sitting on the floor. He was about to sit down on his bed when he remembered that he was still soaked from head to toe.

He looked towards the bathroom, hearing the shower running. He smiled, and pushed the door open. Steam quickly escaped the room and he shut the door behind him.

Emily heard the click of the door. She quickly rubbed her hand across the glass door, erasing the fog that was obscuring her view. She saw Bruce's back as he pulled the wet shirt over his head.

"What are you doing?"

Hearing her voice, he turned, placing the shirt on the counter. He smiled.

"Joining you," he said. "Because, I just finished bringing all of your things and I'm cold and wet."

Emily chuckled, turning around to allow the shampoo to run from her hair. She turned back around just as Bruce opened the door and stepped in.

"This is much better," he commented with a smile, feeling the water hit him from the faucet on the opposite wall. The beads of water dripped over his shoulders and down his chest.

_Why did he have to come in the shower with me?_

"Warmer?"

"Much."

Emily smirked, turning around in an effort to keep her mind on anything but the naked man behind her. She eyed the container of shampoo and poured some into her hand before running it through her hair. Finally, she turned around, allowing the falling water to wash it away.

Bruce was staring at her.

"What?"

"I was certain that I saw you washing shampoo out of your hair when I walked into the room."

Emily thought for a moment until she realized that he was right. She laughed and shook her head.

"See," she said, holding out a finger. "This is what happens when you come in the shower with me."

Bruce smirked, taking a step forward.

"What happens?"

Emily smiled coyly. "I forget things. You're distracting."

"Am I distracting you?"

He was standing right in front of her. She nodded.

"It's quite annoying actually," Emily admitted, with a smile.

"I'll get out then, if I'm interrupting your shower," he said, as Emily reached forward and took him by his head and placed her lips over his.

Bruce wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling him close to her before pressing her body against the back wall of the shower. The water cascaded over their faces for a moment and Bruce reached out, turning off the showers.

Emily chuckled into his kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck, until she suddenly gasped and pinched her eyes tightly.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed.

Bruce looked at her then he realized the problem. Shampoo.

He reached around her and turned the faucet back on. Emily quickly put her face under the falling water, feeling much better although the sting was still there. She ran her hair under the water to ensure that this time, all the shampoo was gone.

She turned around and opened her eyes.

Bruce could see the redness in the left one.

"I'm sorry for ruining the mood," she said, sympathetically.

Bruce reached past her, and turned off the faucet again, once again coming near her. He gently kissed her shoulder, her neck and then went up to her ear.

"I don't think you could," he whispered, before kissing her neck once again.

Bruce smiled, hearing her sigh.

* * *

Emily's leg was tangled up in the sheet and she was cold. That much she knew.

The heavier comforter was no longer on the bed and the chill in the room made her beg for it. Holding the thin sheet to her chest, she sat up. The mid-day light peeked through the closed, heavy curtains and she winced at the brightness when it caught her eye.

She glanced back at Bruce, seeing his bare back facing towards her as he had a good portion of the sheet tucked under himself. It was then that she saw the large blanket. It was on the floor beside Bruce and she suddenly remembered him pushing it off the bed at some point that morning. Slowly, she leaned in towards Bruce, and carefully reached overtop of him. She glanced down at his face. His eyes were closed.

"If you were wanting the blanket, all you had to do was ask."

Emily looked down and saw Bruce turn his head towards her and open his eyes. She pushed her hair behind her ears and smiled.

"I thought you were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you," she explained, as he reached up and brushed her cheek as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"I was already awake," he said with a smile, before he reached over and grabbed the blanket on the floor and pulled it up onto the bed. With a quick motion, he spread it out over them.

When he looked over at Emily, she was on her stomach, looking at him.

"I'd love to stay here all day," Bruce said, pushing her hair away from her face with a finger. "But I have a late afternoon meeting that I should get ready for."

Emily smirked, pushing her head up.

"And then I thought that I'd take you out to dinner and afterwards, you and I would have a date in the gym," he said, watching her mind try to figure out what she was meaning. "I gave some thought into what you said last night. It's not going to be pleasant. If I'm going to teach you anything, I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Emily leaned forward and kissed him briefly on his lips.

"I wouldn't want you to sugarcoat it for me," she said.

Bruce smiled, leaned in to her just as they heard a knock at the door.

"Is that Alfred?" Emily asked, lightly pushing against Bruce.

"Ignore it," Bruce said, leaning back in to kiss her.

"Master Bruce, you had requested that I wake you by 3 in order for you to get to Wayne Tower for today's meeting."

Emily pushed on Bruce's chest once again, and he dropped his head to the pillow.

"I'm up!" he called out, with more than a hint of frustration. "I'll be down shortly."

Emily smiled weakly before moving away so that Bruce could sit up. He got up and gathered his clothes from the closet. Meanwhile, Emily laid back down, enjoying the warmth that remained beneath the blankets.

Bruce paused as he pulled his dress shirt over his arms. He turned to Emily as he began to do up the buttons.

"Why don't you come along? I can't see the meeting lasting that long and we can go directly out to dinner following it."

Emily sat up, holding the warm blankets against herself.

"You could wait in my office," Bruce further suggested.

She shrugged. "And that would be all right?"

He shrugged.

"It's my office and my building," he said, playfully with a wink.

Emily smiled, sliding out from between the sheets.

"I'd better get moving then," she said, smirking at Bruce as she walked by and into the bathroom. "I wouldn't want to make you late for that meeting."

* * *

Emily looked out from the 67th storey office window. Gotham looked completely different from height. One would never guess the amount of crime that plagued the cities arteries. It was beautiful with the newly green buds decorating the trees in the parks around the city.

She turned and sat down in Bruce's chair at his desk.

They had gained a lot of attention when they were spotted walking into Wayne Tower side by side. Emily could see the security officers stand up from their desk in the lobby, almost anticipating their assistance to get through the busy foot-traffic outside of the building. Bruce had taken her hand as they made their way through the lobby, to the elevator and then up to his office on the 67th floor where he reluctantly left her 45 minutes earlier.

Emily spun around in his chair and faced the desk. She noted that the man barely had anything sitting on top. Curiously, she pulled open a drawer beside her finding it filled with a few pens, and other essential office stationary. She tugged on the lower drawer as it stuck a bit more and pulled hard. The drawer suddenly opened and a large metal box slid forward.

She looked up towards the closed door, wondering if anyone would have heard the crash and came to investigate. Curiously, she gently picked up the box and noticed that the lid was locked.

The sound of a knock on the door startled her. Quickly, she placed the box back into the drawer and closed it before walking over to the door.

When she opened the door, Mr. Fox was surprised to see her. His arms were full of rolls of paper and files. She helped him by taking the rolls of paper from under his arms. Lucius turned and closed the door behind him.

"Dr. Tucker, Mr. Wayne told me that you were in here," Fox said, with a smile. "I'm just wanting to drop these off for him to look over."

"Is the meeting over?"

Lucius nodded. "Unfortunately, once the investors realized that Bruce was fluent in Mandarin, they insisted on speaking further with him. I doubt that any of it has to do with business."

Emily smiled weakly, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It was well after 4.

"I'm about to head down to applied sciences, if you're wanting to join me," Lucius said, with a twinkling in his eye.

"I'd love to," Emily said, joining him by the bookcase as it slid open to reveal a hidden elevator, much like the one that was in Fox's office.

"Have you been busy down here?" she asked as the door opened to the large restricted level of Wayne Tower.

Fox chuckled. "Just you wait and see."

She walked alongside him as they walked up to a large illuminated table. He took the rolls of paper from her and placed them near the edge of the table.

"Mr Wayne and I have been working on this," he said. "Actually, it's been more of just myself but Bruce has given me a lot of suggestions on design."

Emily looked down at the large scaled blueprint of an odd-shaped airplane.

"What is it called?"

Fox shrugged as he crossed his arms, looking down at the blueprint.

"We haven't come up with anything official yet. It has a long Wayne Enterprises designation right now," he replied. "But when it's complete, it'll be able to make quick maneuvers around buildings and be small enough that it would be able to just barely fit inside the Battery tunnel."

Emily smiled, turning to Fox.

"I wouldn't even want to drive a car down there, let alone this!"

Fox nodded. "Agreed, but they were part of Mr. Wayne's designs."

The sound of the elevator opening caught Fox's attention and he turned as Bruce walked up to them. He noticed them standing around the large blueprint on the table.

"Did Mr. Fox show you your Christmas present?"

Emily turned, and smirked. "Aw, you shouldn't have."

Bruce leaned in and briefly kissed her lips. "I'm sorry that I was longer than I thought."

"No problem," Emily said, with a smile. "Are you ready to go?"

He winced. "Actually, we've had some change in plans." Bruce looked over at Lucius.

"Mr. Fox, would you be free for dinner tonight?"

Lucius looked from Bruce to Emily.

"I'm not wanting to intrude."

"Our foreign investors are insisting on taking us out for dinner before they leave the country. I mentioned that my girlfriend was waiting for me and they suggested that they take all three of us out," Bruce explained.

"Can you just say that you're unavailable for the evening?"

Once again, he winced. "Emily, I can't. They are investors into the company and in their custom, to refuse their generosity is like a slap in the face. I can't do that."

Although she nodded, he could see the disappointment on her face. This was the second time that their plans for dinner had been changed. She was still hungry and decided to make the most of it.

"Do they speak any English?" Emily asked as they rode the elevator back up to his office.

"A little," Bruce replied. "Mr. Choi, one of the investors, his wife came along with him to Gotham and he told me that she speaks a little bit of English."

Emily felt her cell phone suddenly vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out, indicating that she had a new voice mail.

"I didn't even hear it ring," she commented.

"There is a communications grid set up around Applied Sciences," he said, as they stepped out of the elevator. "No signals in or out."

She nodded as she picked up her purse off a chair in Bruce's office.

"It's probably a machine asking if I've been satisfied with my cell service." She tossed the cell phone into her purse. "I'll check the message later."

* * *

Emily figured that she might as well had been sitting in the middle of a foreign film. She couldn't understand a word of the conversations that went on around her. Bruce sat beside her at the table and she watched as he spoke, almost eloquently in the strange language. Lucius sat across from her as he attempted to speak with one of the investors who seemed to know the most English as he sought assistance from their hired translator.

Emily smiled at Mrs. Choi as she sat across from her husband. After meeting the woman, it was obvious that they wouldn't have much in common. She barely spoke English. Mrs. Choi was in her mid-twenties. She was a very petite and slender woman and barely ate more than a quarter of the size of what Emily had eaten off her plate. Her skin appeared flawless and her hair was perfect. The woman made Emily feel extremely self-conscious.

For a moment, Emily caught Lucius' eye. He smiled politely before Bruce suddenly turned to her. The oriental man sitting beside him seemed to be very insistent for Bruce to say something to her.

"Emily, Mr. Choi is asking if you have ever travelled to China?"

She shook her head, looking over to the man sitting on the other side of Bruce. "I've never been out of this country."

Emily watched as Bruce quickly translated her answer to the man sitting beside him. The man nodded and began speaking, looking to Emily.

"He says that if we ever come to his country, that we would have a place to stay with him," Bruce said.

Emily smiled and thanked him. The man seemed to understand her words and went on to continue to speak. She watched as Bruce quickly and suddenly put down his glass of water and shook his head before he spoke to the man with a smile on his face.

"What is he saying?"

Bruce chuckled and shook his head.

"He wants us to have a honeymoon in China and visit his family," Bruce said. "I tried to explain that we weren't getting married."

Emily let out a light, nervous laugh and took a drink of water from her glass.

The oriental man spoke quickly as he gestured to his wife across from him before placing his hand on Bruce's shoulder. Bruce replied to the man's words in the foreign language. Emily glanced at Lucius as she realized the man could understand a portion of the words that were exchanged. Lucius looked over at Emily and smiled.

"What's going on?" she asked him, softly.

Lucius cleared his throat, before wiping his mouth with the cloth napkin.

"Perhaps you should ask Mr. Wayne."

Emily turned back to Bruce as he continued to speak. She watched the investors look at Bruce intently as he gestured to Emily beside him. Not knowing what was being told or why he was including her into the topic of conversation was very unsettling.

Finally he ended his words with a toast to Mr. Choi who nodded fervently as he looked over to Emily. Bruce turned in his seat and placed his wine glass back in front of his plate.

"What was I just oblivious to?" she whispered.

Bruce smiled, as a waitress placed a plate of food in front of him. He glanced up at her, putting on his customary Bruce Wayne charm.

"Just business stuff," he replied, with a smirk. Emily scoffed.

"Business stuff, my ass," she quickly retorted softly. "What the hell was that about a honeymoon?"

"Oh that."

She wasn't impressed with his avoidance of the topic..

"Yes, that."

Bruce sighed, as he turned to her to speak softly and out of the ear of any nearby waitress.

"Mr. Choi was under the impression that we were getting married. The words must have gotten mixed up in the translation."

Emily coughed and chuckled.

"No kidding. What did you tell him then?"

Bruce pulled out the napkin from beside him and placed it over his lap.

"The truth."

Emily wanted to strangle him because of the numerous cryptic statements he had been giving her all evening.

"Which is what exactly?"

He paused and looked over at Lucius who merely glanced at Bruce for a brief moment before engaging in a conversation with the investors around him once again. Bruce turned in his seat towards Emily and lowered his voice.

"I told him that we're both busy people and to get involved in a life-long relationship with each other wouldn't be the best thing for us. He was trying to convince me that being busy wasn't a valid reason to forgo spending your life with someone whom you love."

Bruce paused for a moment as he shrugged, somewhat nervously.

"And then he went on and on about his marriage with his wife and a lot of other things that I wish that I didn't have the ability to overhear."

Emily smirked as Bruce reached for his glass to take a drink.

"We are busy people," Emily reaffirmed aloud for both of them.

Bruce nodded in agreement. "That we are. With lots of responsibilities."

This time Emily nodded. "Lots."

She paused. "So, is there ever a good reason?"

As though it answered her, her cell phone began to ring. The sound caught the attention of the other people at the table. With an apologetic smile, Emily stood up, excusing herself from the table and went towards the wash rooms before answering the call.

"Hello?"

"Emily," the voice said. She instantly recognized it as Bill, but he sounded different.

"Bill? Half of Gotham has been looking for you! Where the hell are you?"

The sound of a laughter coming from a nearby table made it nearly impossible to hear Bill's voice.

"I can't say," he replied.

Emily plugged her other ear with her finger, as she ducked into the ladies washroom in order to hear him better.

"Bill, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he replied. She could hear his voice wavering. The otherwise confident doctor was sounding as though he was near his breaking point. It certainly wasn't him.

"I know you, Bill and you don't sound fine," she said. "Let me know where you are and I can get help to you."

"That's quite a big promise you're making, Doctor."

Emily paused with the new voice she heard on the phone. Jonathan Crane.

"Who is this?"

"I think you already know who I am," he said. "We met a few times at the clinic. While searching the good Doctor's computer, it became apparent to me that you and him are quite good friends and have had a relationship in the past. You've exchanged some personal emails before and I'm guessing that by what I've read, that you're the one that broke it off. I find that interesting. Do you have some sort of commitment issue? It makes me wonder how your current relationship with Mr. Wayne is going."

"What do you want?"

She heard Crane chuckle.

"What makes you think that I want something?"

"Why else would you call?"

"Why do you answer every single one of my questions with another question?"

"You're being evasive," she countered, not even skipping a beat.

"Touché."

She heard him sigh.

"Now, since you and Bruce Wayne are very close and Wayne isn't hurting for money, I have a favour to ask. If you want to keep him safe as well as Doctor Dravis here, you will deliver 3 million in cash to me. No cops and no word about this to Wayne."

"How do you suppose that I'll be able to get 3 million dollars from Bruce Wayne without him knowing?"

"You snagged the billionaire. You must be a resourceful woman," he said. "Figure it out, or people will die and their blood will be on your hands."

"Fine," she seethed softly. "I'll get you the money."

"Good girl. I'll call you at a later time to discuss location."

Crane suddenly hung up. Emily looked down at the phone, seeing the number was unknown, the same as the call she received earlier. She quickly checked her voice mail and heard a click after a brief pause.

She felt tears come to her eyes when she realized that her hand was shaking as she held onto the phone. Emily looked up at the mirror and saw her pale reflection looking back at her. With a deep sigh and a look of determination put on her face, she pocketed the cell phone before pulling the door open.

She walked out into the large dining room and bumped into Bruce.

"I was just coming to check on you," he said, with a smile that quickly faded as he looked at her face. It must have changed. "What's wrong?"

Emily looked past him at the busy table where they had been sitting minutes prior.

"Bill called. We need to go," she said softly.

Emily watched as a mask fell over Bruce's face.

"Okay," he said. He looked over his shoulder to the busy restaurant and their table behind him. Bruce turned back to Emily. "I want you to slap me on the face."

"I'm not going to slap you, Bruce!" she exclaimed softly.

"If we're going to get out of here without having to give a reason, you're going to have to slap me".

"I can't just slap you for no reason."

He gestured towards one of the waitresses.

"Imagine me saying this to her," he said as he leaned forward to whisper in Emily's ear. Although the words he said nearly made her weak in the knees, but she simply imagined if he ever said them to anyone else. In shock, she slapped Bruce across the face. A deafening crack echoed throughout the restaurant as eyes fell upon Bruce and Emily. She quickly walked past him and grabbed her coat from her chair, giving an apologetic smile to Mr. Fox before turning to leave.

Bruce walked slowly up to the table, a hand against his face.

"I need to go, Mr. Fox," Bruce said.

Lucius nodded, seeing a look in the younger man's face. He had come to know Bruce Wayne well enough to know that the slap was a facade. "Of course."

They both glanced towards the doorway as flashes of light shone through the window, indicating that the media outside had caught notice of the exchange as well.

He quickly turned to the investors at the table, explaining the situation in Mandarin to which they understood. Bruce turned to Lucius and shook his hand.

"Give my regards to Dr. Tucker," Lucius said softly, as Bruce nodded before following the woman out the door and into the crowd of photographers.

* * *

Bruce shook his head as he drove them through the city in the early evening. Emily had explained the details of the phone call to him. The pain he felt on his face was no longer felt. He pulled the car up to a red light and glanced over at Emily.

"I don't want you meeting with Crane."

"We don't have any other choice," she countered. "If I don't do it, he may end up killing Bill and who knows what he'd do to you if he had the chance."

"He just wants money and he knows that getting it through you would be easy," Bruce said. He paused for a moment. "He wont get to me."

"Can you guarantee that?"

"I am always careful, Emily," Bruce said. "You must know that."

"I do," she replied, softly, trying to convince herself.

She felt his hand rest on top of hers. Emily turned her hand and entwined her fingers with his.

"And I worry about you, so you know why I don't want you do this."

"Right now, your best shot at taking Crane down is this deal," Emily said. "Bill, unfortunately is involved and even though we've had issues in the past, I don't want anything to happen to him. He's a good man."

Bruce sighed, as the light changed back to green and he drove the car forward down the street.

"Did Crane say anything about when or where to meet?"

Emily shook her head. "No. He just said that he'd call back. I don't know when that'll be."

He glanced over at her as he continued to drive down the road. "If you're adamant about doing this, we have some work to do."


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry for taking so long. I was sick again for the past two weeks - a head cold with a lovely laryngitis tossed in. It's on mid-November and I've hit my quota for sicknesses for the season. Let's hope that's it!

* * *

"Ready to go at it again?"

Emily laid on the ground, staring at the ceiling. The woman was out of breath and a light sheen of sweat had built itself on her forehead and neck.

"Bruce, we've done it three times already. I'm just not getting it."

"Once more then. Forth time's the charm," Bruce stated with a smile, holding his hand out towards her. Emily reached up, taking his hand and he pulled her to her feet.

"You said the same thing about the third time. I'm beginning to think you're enjoying doing this to me everyday," she commented.

"You're only learning that now!?" he joked, with a laugh.

"Very funny."

"You are getting better though. It'll just take practice and most of that comes from experience. You'll learn to know what an opponent is about to do before he does it."

He tossed her a water bottle and she opened it, taking a large gulp.

They had spent nearly three hours every day in the gym for nearly a month. Before work or after work; whenever there was free time. Emily had gone into work on more than one occasion feeling exhausted and made the excuse that she hadn't been getting enough sleep. There had been no word from Crane and although Emily was beginning to believe that the man would never call, the longer wait made Bruce even more apprehensive and tougher on Emily with the training. He knew it was just a matter of time. He used that time to get her ready for whatever Crane would throw at them, even if that meant working her overtime.

"Ready?" he asked, as he watched her toss the water bottle towards the edge of the mats.

Emily was still out of breath from the last exercise and merely nodded.

Bruce had to admit that in those few weeks, he visibly noticed the change in her. She had gained more muscle and her endurance had increased due to her jogging around the edge of the property every day.

Bruce swung his arm out towards her. Emily quickly ducked, turning around to grab onto his arm before attempting to kick him in the side. Bruce had come to recognize that movement and blocked it, and instantly pinning her down onto the mats beneath them.

"Another point for me," he boasted, slightly out of breath.

He looked at Emily and watched as her facial expression changed from bitter frustration to a smug smile.

"You really think you won this one?"

He stared down in confusion at her, until he realized that her arms had come up and found their way under his t-shirt.

"I know your weakness, Mr. Wayne," she whispered up towards his ear, running her hands over his bare back beneath the shirt and then onto his chest.

"You're playing dirty, Doctor."

She shrugged. "I didn't know there were rules of conduct when it came to hand to hand combat."

She could feel Bruce relax under her hands and with a quick smirk, she managed to pull his knees out from under him. Emily quickly used her legs and managed to get him on his back, pinning him down with her own hands and knees.

Bruce shook his head in astonishment as Emily stood up. With a smile on his face, he looked over at her as she picked up the water bottles from the edge of the mat.

"Fair enough, you won that one," he stated, as he stood up and walked over to her. Emily passed him the bottle.

"If I had only thought of that weeks ago, it would've saved me from the bruises on my back and shoulder," she said.

She took another drink when her cell phone began ringing from where it sat alone on a chair against the wall. They turned and looked at it. They both knew what it could mean. Emily walked over to it, and instantly relaxed when she recognized the number. Bruce didn't have to be told that it wasn't from Crane. Her body language said it all. Emily answered it.

"Hi Louise," Emily said, as she began a conversation with the woman. The benefit had been postponed twice due to the board at Wayne Enterprises concern over Dr. Dravis' possible criminal involvement. With persuasion from Bruce, it was now less than two weeks away and with Bill missing, the arrangements were left to Emily. Her phone calls to Wayne Enterprises had become more frequent as final preparations were being made. For being thrown into the position, Emily was doing quite well. She had attended a few meetings with the board at Wayne Tower to discuss the plans and led part of the meeting herself. For a woman who never had experience in the business world, she really had a gift in it.

Bruce turned to the electronic sparring partner and turned it on, all the while listening to Emily's side of the conversation. She would glance over at him as he punched and kicked the machine, as it was instructing him. Bruce was so focused on beating the program that he didn't even notice that Emily had finished her phone conversation and was watching him.

The moment she heard the audible beep come from the machine, indicating that a round was over, she spoke.

"Louise was just wanting to know some contact information for the benefit so she can get the thank you cards ready," Emily called, gaining Bruce's attention before picking up her water bottle.

"The benefit isn't for another week," he reminded her with a smile as the woman walked towards him.

"She knows that. She prefers to not leave things to the last minute like some people do."

Bruce stopped for a second and turned. "Are you implying something?"

She shrugged and smiled coyly.

"Ready?"

He nodded, waiting for her to make her move when the phone rang again.

Emily sighed.

"Louise probably forgot a name," she suggested, jogging across the room to grab it. With a smile, she pleasantly said hello, but her face suddenly fell.

_"Meet me at Craigowan Golf and Country Club at 11:30pm_," Crane voice drawled over the phone.

Emily turned, and looked at Bruce, who instantly knew that it wasn't Louise on the phone.

"The one that's for sale?"

Her voice stammered slightly as anxiousness set in.

_"That would be the place," Crane replied. "And don't forget the money and no cops, because I doubt you'd want to know what would happen to your friend if you did."_

She looked down at the phone in her hands, realizing that what they had been planning for, was actually going to happen. Emily barely noticed Bruce take her by the shoulders.

"Em, you can do this," he assured her. "I'll be there watching you."

Finally, she nodded and looked up at him.

"I'm going to need a good, stiff drink when this is over with," she said, as Bruce smiled. He nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

They spent the next hour going over the plan as Bruce pulled up an aerial photo of the Craigowan property. It was vast 18 hole golf course that had been for sale for the past 2 years after the owner was charged with embezzlement. In that time, the greens were left to become overgrown and the local wildlife had turned it into their own refuge on the outskirts of the city.

After he had equiped Emily with a wireless transmitter and a discreet 2-way radio within her ear, she climbed into the small Matrix, giving a sigh as Bruce passed her the briefcase.

"It's all ready?" she asked.

With a smile, he nodded as she placed it on the passenger seat.

"Are you ready?" he asked, bending down over the door.

She smiled, nervously. "I suppose I'll have to be."

Bruce leaned into the car and met her lips for a brief kiss. "I'll be there shortly."

Emily nodded as Bruce closed the car door, allowing her to drive off the property. Even before she left his sight, he turned to walk back into Wayne Manor to head down to the cave to prepare to leave.

* * *

From where he stood, he could see everything. The tall club house was a perfect vantage point for him to see the entire parking area and the wooded drive from the main road. Batman kept himself in the shadows and waited.

Emily preferred staying in the feeble light of the parking lights, even though they sounded like they could burn out at any moment. She leaned against the drivers side door of the Matrix and waited.

She suddenly turned her head when she heard a sound coming from the wooded area and let out a breath when she realized it was an owl calling out into the night. In the darkness, she couldn't help but let her imagination wander with the eerie sounds of the night.

Emily pushed herself up to stand up and ran her hands through her hair.

"Where is he? I just want to get this over with," she said softly to herself.

"Shouldn't be much longer now," she heard Batman say into her ear. She nearly had forgotten about the discreet earpiece sitting just inside her ear.

"And to think, I could be dealing with drunken patients right now," she commented with a smile. "At least I get the chance to spend some time with you, even if we are over a hundred yards from each other."

She could have sworn that she heard a chuckle in her ear.

"No more talking," he reminded her.

Emily cleared her throat. "Sorry. Just getting anxious."

She could hear the distinct sound of a motor approaching and she noticed the two pairs of headlights reflecting off the trees in the wooded area around the drive.

The two cars stopped ahead of her, and turned off the ignition. She watched as both passenger and drivers side doors opened and someone stepped out of the cars on either side.

Emily picked up the briefcase at her feet and waited as someone began walking towards her.

Slowly, she walked forward to meet Crane.

The moment she saw the man's face in the light, she knew that it wasn't him.

"Where is Crane?"

"Is that the money?" the man asked, gesturing to the bag in her hand and completely ignoring her question.

"It is."

"Toss it to me."

"Not until I see Dr. Crane or Dr. Dravis," she called out.

The man shook his head. "Ain't gonna happen."

"I spoke with him on the phone and I'm only handing the money to him," Emily stated, as the man pulled a gun from his hip and aimed it at her.

"Bitch, I'll be pulling it out of your dead fingers," he threatened.

"Get down," she heard in her ear as she quickly complied as the light suddenly went out and the man in front of her bent over in agony.

The men began to call out to each other in the darkness as Emily quickly stood up and swung the briefcase out to hit the man in front of her. To her surprise, he grabbed it and pulled it from her hands. Emily tried punching the man in the face and he merely staggered backward slightly. Trying to recall all that Bruce had taught her, she found that this man was stronger than she suspected. She could see the anger grow on his face in the moonlight as he brought his hand up to hit her. Emily quickly ducked and bent over to trip him. The man fell forward onto his knees but swiftly turned and grabbed her by the ankle, bringing Emily to the ground. In one swift motion, he managed to flip her over onto her back. In the light, she could see the flash of a knife in his hand and even caught sight of his eyes.

His eyes. She had seen the same look before. Marcus.

Out of nowhere, she saw the man reach for his neck as he was pulled backward and away from her.

Emily quickly stood up, seeing Batman standing a few feet behind the man, pulling on a thin rope that he had wrapped around the man. She could see another four men ready to attack Batman.

"There are too many!" he growled at her. "Get out of here!"

He must have seen Emily hesitate because Batman quickly added a loud, "go!"

Startled, she suddenly turned and ran towards the overgrown fields of the golf course. Batman saw one of the men turn and begin to run after her. He quickly abandoned the man he had ensnared in the rope and jumped onto the back of the man chasing Emily, bringing the man to the ground before he was quickly attacked by the other men.

Emily ran.

The thick grasses pulled at her legs and tripped her more than once. She didn't even bother to stop or look back, knowing that those men could easily be chasing after her. Once she reached the tree line, she glanced over her shoulder. No one was chasing after her. Emily quickly ducked down behind a tree and sat down, catching her breath.

That's when she heard it. An explosion.

It was nearly deafening.

Emily peeked around the tree and saw the bright light and the plume of smoke rising from the burning Matrix.

Behind it, she could see the two cars swiftly make their way out of the parking lots, squealing their tires as they spun around to leave.

Bruce. Where was he?

Not daring to use his name, she whispered, covering her ear, hoping to hear the slightest sound coming from the small speaker in her ear. Her voice was shaking as she spoke.

"Are you there?"

Nothing.

Emily could feel her heart begin to race. Without thinking, she ran out towards the Matrix as it burned brightly in the parking lot. It burned brightly and hot. As she neared it, there was no sign of anyone. Her eyes began to water as her mind thought the worst.

"Where are you?" she said aloud.

"I'm here," she finally heard in her ear. It was soft.

Emily spun around, trying to find out where Batman was hiding.

"Where?"

"Clubhouse," he replied, forcing the words.

Emily ran towards the building, and climbed up the wooden stairs and across the large deck that surrounded most of the clubhouse. Her footsteps creaked over the old wooden panels. She stopped when she saw a door that was pushed in. Carefully, she pushed it further, scanning the darkness for Batman. Instead she felt a hand on her shoulder and she quickly turned, startled.

"It's me. Are you all right?" he asked, his voice seeming to struggle with each word.

Emily let out a sigh of relief, hearing his voice.

"I'm fine."

She could hear him let out a breath before she felt him let go of her shoulder and drop to his knees.

"What? What's wrong?" Emily begged, panic in her voice as she knelt down in front of him and brought her hands to his face, feeling for anything that could answer her questions.

Batman took her hand and brought it to his side.

"You're bleeding," she concluded, feeling the wetness on the thick armour.

"And it hurts like hell," he added, as he gasped from her touch, as he sat down against the wall of the old clubhouse.

"I have to get you home," she said, holding her hand against the spot where she assumed the blood was coming from.

"Alfred's on his way," Batman whispered, feeling more and more light-headed as he rested his head back.

"What happened?" Emily asked, partly to ensure that he kept talking to her as his breathing was concerning her.

She heard him let out a breath as he leaned up against the wall.

"I didn't move fast enough," he simply replied. "One of them had a knife and I didn't turn in time."

Keeping a hand on his side, she brought the other one to his mouth, feeling the cool, clammy skin on his cheeks.

"Don't pass out on me," Emily demanded him, softly.

She felt his hands find her arm and then trailed up to her neck and face.

"I'm not planning on it."

Emily reached up and took his hand, before pulling the glove off. Batman didn't protest as she found his wrist to feel his pulse. It was fast; alarmingly fast.

"You need to keep talking to me," she told him, her voice speaking nervously. Bruce must have heard and he took her free hand and kissed it.

"Emily, I'm not planning on leaving you anytime soon," he assured her, even though he was fighting to keep himself awake. "In fact, I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"I was wondering if you'd join me as my date to the benefit next week," he said, his voice audibly weak

Emily smiled and let out a light laugh.

"Actually, I have plans to go with another handsome man," she teased, softly. "You probably know him. Like you, he's incredibly stubborn, but super sexy."

Batman closed his eyes for a brief moment as he smiled at her attempt of keeping the situation light hearted. He found it increasingly difficult to re-open his eyes and suddenly opened them upon hearing Emily loud protest that he opens them. In the pale moonlight, he could see her outline in front of him.

"Don't you dare close your eyes again!"

"Then you're going to have to make a more interesting conversation," he admitted, his eyes obviously not the only thing struggling to keep alert.

Emily thought for a brief moment before looking into his eyes. Thinking of the first words that she could say that would make him stay awake, she blurted them out.

"Will you marry me?"

That worked.

Batman's eyes suddenly opened a little larger hearing the words come from the woman in front of him.

"That's not what I was expecting."

"Did it help?"

"Depends on whether you were serious about it," he told her.

Her mouth was open, but she didn't know what to say. There was a pause.

"I can't live without you," she told him, flatly.

A smile pulled at Batman's face. "Then yes, I'll marry you."

Emily chuckled before running the back of her hand under her nose, realizing for the first time that tears were coming down her cheeks. In the back of her mind, she tried to ignore the fact that these were the things that someone speaking to someone who would be dying would say.

"On one condition," Batman added.

"Yeah?"

"That you let me ask you."

"Okay."

There was a pause for a second and Emily reached forward shaking Batman's shoulder. She heard him gasp as he suddenly regained consciousness again.

"Stay awake!" she pleaded. "You need to stay awake."

"Emily, I love you," he said, his words seeming difficult to say. Every breath seemed difficult.

"I love you too," Emily quickly told him, running her hand over his cheek.

She heard him let out a shaky chuckle at hearing her words as his body was beginning to tremble.

"This is hardly what I pictured when I thought about being asked or even asking someone to marry me. This is hardly romantic. We can't barely see each other, we're in a dusty, old building and you're probably going into shock."

Emily couldn't help but laugh slightly at their situation. She heard Batman groan and move slightly as a flash of light shone across the room, indicating that someone was pulling into the parking lot.

"Alfred's here. Everything is going to be all right," Emily reminded him.

She turned back to Batman and noticed that while he had moved, he managed to take the cowl off of his head and laid it on his lap. His hair sat haphazardly on his head, but even in the darkness he was the most handsome man she had ever met.

"Emily," he said, trying to keep his eyes open as his words came out as breaths. "Mar...ry..?"

"Yes," she quickly broke in, as a smile appeared on his face before his eyes suddenly closed for a brief moment before he opened them again.

"You didn't let me finish."

"I already knew my answer before you asked," she told him, as his eyes closed once again, but this time they didn't open again.

With her free hand, she shook him calling his name over and over before checking for a pulse.

The door suddenly opened and Emily could make out Alfred's silhouette in the low light as he held out a GPS in his hand.

"He's lost a lot of blood," Emily cried, not realizing until then that she was crying. "He's non-responsive now."

Alfred quickly rushed over. The older man ran his hand over Bruce's face and felt for his pulse.

"We have to get him home," Alfred said, urgently. He looked at Bruce's pale face.

Bruce fought to keep his eyes open. Sounds, lights and voices seemed to blend together as he floated in and out of consciousness.

"Stay with us, Master Bruce."

"Damn it, Bruce. Keep your eyes open!"

"We're almost home."

"I can't tell where the blood is coming from!"

"Bruce!"

"No! Don't you dare pass out again!"

"I'm not going to be burying you too!"

"Don't you dare leave me! I love you!"

* * *

_I love you._

Bruce slowly opened his eyes. A cool breeze floated across his face yet he felt warm and safe. He moved slightly in the bed and instantly regretted it. He gasped at the sudden pain in his side.

"You're going to have to take it easy with your right side for the next few days."

He recognized the voice although he hadn't heard it in many years. Bruce looked at the elderly woman sitting on the edge of his bed and instantly recognized her as the woman his father worked with at the hospital, years ago. Dr. Leslie Thompkins. Although time had changed her appearance somewhat, her eyes and smile remained the same. Alfred stood beside her.

"Sir, how do you feel?" Alfred asked, holding a glass of water.

"Like hell," he replied, with a wince as he slowly pushed himself up to sit. "Leslie, what are you doing here?"

"Alfred called me when he and Dr. Tucker needed some assistance with your injuries," she explained, as Bruce took the glass from Alfred.

Bruce took a long drink of the water before glancing across the room to where Emily slept; her socked feet resting on the end of the bed and a blanket drapped over her. Leslie noticed Bruce's attention being brought to the woman she had the honour of meeting for the first time many hours prior.

"She hasn't left your side," Leslie informed him, keeping her voice soft.

Alfred nodded.

"I've been forcing her to eat and Dr. Thompkins threatened to sedate her if she didn't get some sleep."

"She can be very stubborn," Bruce commented, as he gently placed his hand over the large bandage on his side.

"Seems like she's in good company then," Leslie quipped with a smirk. She noticed him look down at the bandage.

"You ended up with fourteen stitches, and you lost a lot of blood," Leslie told him. "I still can't believe you're acting recklessly every night. You're lucky to be alive."

Bruce avoided the topic as he knew that Leslie was as aware as Lucius was that he had a double life. He also knew that she wasn't fond of what he was doing. Instead, he changed the subject.

"How long was I out?"

She looked down at her watch and mentally counted. "Nearly thirteen hours, I'd say. It's close to 1 in the afternoon." She paused, placing the last of her things into her bag. "And now that you're awake, I'll leave you in the care of Dr. Tucker."

Bruce thanked Leslie as she left with Alfred beside her, offering to show her the way out. Once they left, Bruce turned to Emily and watched her as she slept. Inwardly, he wanted to wake her so they could finish the last conversation he remembered having with her.

Carefully, he laid back and relaxed against the mountains of pillows under him as Alfred walked back into the room with a tray of food. He placed it on the table beside Bruce.

"What's happened since I've been out?"

Alfred sat down, after handing Bruce a plate of toast with jam.

"You'll be happy to know that the fire department took care of the Matrix at the golf course and I had reported it as a stollen vehicle just prior to then," he said. "And the briefcase was gone. I managed to set up the tracking system on it but the signal disappeared."

Bruce sat up straighter and winced with the movement.

"I'll have to get down to the cave and see if I can find the last known location for the transmitter," he said, passing Alfred the plate of partially eaten toast, but he refused to take it.

"Sir, I don't believe that it's a good idea that you move too much at the moment," Alfred suggested, sternly. "Dr. Thompkins requested that you stay in bed for the remainder of the day and get some rest."

Bruce smirked. "Dr. Thompkins isn't here."

"But I am."

Bruce looked past Alfred, who also turned hearing the voice and realized that Emily was awake. She had pushed herself off the chair and stood up, rubbing the back of her neck.

"And you're not going anywhere," she added, as Alfred backed out of the way as Emily walked towards them. She had a smile on her face as she sat down and took his wrist, feeling his pulse. Emily looked down at her watch and mentally counted, knowing that Bruce was watching her. Finally, she let go and sighed in relief.

"Normal," she told him, with a smile.

"Can I get you something to eat, Emily?" Alfred asked, from where he stood behind her.

"Yes, thank you Alfred," she said, before Alfred left the room.

She pulled back the blanket and looked at the bandage that rested over the many stitches that she knew were beneath it.

"Is it feeling sore?"

"It's not so bad anymore."

Emily brushed her hand over his brow and leaned towards him to gently kiss his lips.

"You scared the crap out of me!" she exclaimed as Bruce smirked, after she broke the kiss.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise," he assured her. "Besides, I figure that once you're my wife, I'll have plenty of time to make it up to you."

Emily chuckled. "You heard my answer."

"That was the last thing that I actually remember before waking up," he said, as she stood up and walked towards the windows and pulled the heavy curtains aside to let in the mid-day sunshine into the room. "Is it still a yes?"

Emily turned around. "Of course. The thought of possibly marrying you has been in the back of my mind. The visit from those foreign investors made me think a little more seriously about it. And then, when I realized that I might lose you, it was the kick in the pants that I needed. I also realized that I had to tell you how I felt. That I love you. I would have regretted not being able to say it."

A gentle knock on the door alerted them that Alfred was back. Without hearing a protest, he pushed the door open further and carried in a plate with a sandwich on it. Emily took it from Alfred and placed it on the dresser across the room.

Bruce winked at Emily for a moment before looking at Alfred.

"Alfred, can you do me a favour?"

"Of course, sir."

"My Mother's ring, the one that I put away for safe keeping, could you get it for me please?"

Emily couldn't hide the smile that grew on her face as she heard Bruce ask Alfred such an unusual request until the man turned to glance at Emily and then back to Bruce. As though a light turned on, a smile erupted on his face.

"Are you telling me that you two...? Did something happen that I'm not aware of?"

Bruce shrugged innocently, but kept the smile on his face. "I believe that my Mother would want my future wife to have her old ring."

Alfred nodded as he smiled in astonishment. "Yes, I do think you're right. I'll get it right away."

He turned on his heel and stopped by Emily. He looked down and took her hand before looking back into her eyes. Emily could see the tears outlining his eyes as he smiled.

"Thank you," he said softly. "Thank you for finding him."

Emily smiled and glanced towards Bruce before looking back into the older man's eyes.

"He found me."

Alfred squeezed her hand before letting it go and walking out of the room.

* * *

Emily sat at the computer in the cave, as she tried to find the last known whereabouts of the transmitter. She wasn't getting anywhere. She sighed and leaned back in the chair before running her hands over her face in frustration. The simple, yet elegant ring on her left hand caught her eye. It seemed foreign to her and she had to admit that it nearly made her feel intimidated. Knowing that it once belonged to Mrs. Wayne; a woman whom she had only come to know through photographs and the few stories that Bruce had confided in her with, it was all the more precious that just a ring.

"Does Master Bruce know that you're down here?"

Emily swung around in the chair and watched as Alfred walked towards her. She smiled as she turned back around.

"Doubtful. I managed to slip him something to make him sleep," she informed him with a smile. "He should be out for the next few hours."

Alfred chuckled. "That certainly explains a lot."

He looked at the computer monitors. "Have you gotten any further with this?"

She shrugged, gesturing towards the monitor. "It looks like the transmitter was on for a while but then was suddenly deactivated. The last known coordinates brings it to the intersection at 5th and Lewis Street."

She stood up from the computer and turned to Alfred. "I'm going to go check out that area."

Alfred shook his head. "I'm sorry but I don't think that's a good idea. If these people managed to hurt Master Bruce in armour, I can't allow you to go after them."

"I'm not," she assured him. "I have to meet with Louise and Janie regarding the benefit at a club across town in about an hour and I'll just swing by that way on my way there." She smiled to emphasize her point. "I wont get out of the car."

Alfred sighed as he looked up at the computer where a flashing dot appeared, showing the intersection on the screen.

"Call me when you reach the club," Alfred concluded.

She nodded. "I will."

* * *

"Approaching destination," the GPS within the onboard computer of the Jetta announced aloud as Emily slowed down at the intersection. The light was red and she looked around at each corner. A small pawn shop on one corner, a money loan office on the other, a 2-pump gas station across the street and a convenience store with bars in the windows directly across from it.

It wasn't until she looked back at the doors of the convenience store to see it open that she vaguely recognized the man that walked out. Quickly, she turned right at the light and pulled over. Emily climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind her before running onto the sidewalk to make her way back to the front doors of the store to see them empty. She looked down the sidewalk and saw a man walking quickly away from her.

"Wait!" she called out.

He heard her voice and sped up until he was running as she chased after him.

"Bill! Please stop!"

He quickly turned a corner and Emily followed, this time bumping right into him in the darkness of the corner.

"Emily, what the hell are you doing here?"

She barely recognized him. A dark stubble had grown around his mouth and his eyes appeared sunken and bags hung below them.

"You need to leave, now!"

"Bill, everyone's been looking for you," she told him.

He shook his head as he looked nervously around them.

"You need to leave," he repeated. "You can't be here. He'll find you."

"Crane?"

"He'll kill you if he knew you were here."

Bill took her hand and pulled her back onto the sidewalk and towards where she parked the car. Emily protested and tugged back on her arm, finding that Bill was much stronger than she.

"Come with me," she urged.

"Crane needs me."

"Like hell he does!" Emily exclaimed. "He's brainwashed you somehow. This isn't you."

Bill shook his head as they approached the Jetta. He let go of her hand, pushing her towards the drivers side door.

"Go!"

"I can get help for you, Bill," she pleaded once more.

"You don't understand," he told her, scratching his head, almost nervously. "By helping Crane I'm keeping you alive."

"What? What are you talking about?"

He paused, looking around before turning back to her.

"If I don't, he'll kill you," he exclaimed softly. "I'm trying to protect you."

He reached forward and opened the car door. "Now, go!"

Emily held onto the top of the car door and paused for a moment, looking at Bill before climbing in, but suddenly found Bill's hand fold overtop of hers. She paused as he slid his hand over hers, feeling the rough diamond against his palm. He looked up at her, with an almost resentment in his eyes.

"Wayne?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah."

"Make sure that he takes care of you." Bill looked down at her hand once more before twitching his head and glancing back up at Emily. "Get out of here!"

Emily slid into the drivers seat and quickly pulled away from the curb, her heart still racing from what she had heard from Bill.


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter is a little long, but I had a tough time trying to find a place to just stop it and in so, this one took a while to wrap up. If this chapter had a title, it would be called, LATE, in every sense of the word. It's the theme of the chapter. I hope that you enjoy it. Thank you for all the private messages to let me know that you were still with me. And thank you for the reviews and alerts. Knowing that there is someone out there enjoying the story as much as I enjoy writing it makes this all worth while. :)**

* * *

Emily was late.

She walked into the pub and instantly saw Louise and Janie sitting, and conversing at a tall pub table near a window. Emily made her way through the busy place and caught the attention of the two ladies as she pulled out the empty chair.

"I was just about to call you," Louise told her as Emily sat down beside Janie. She placed a portfolio on the table and placed her purse under the table.

"Are you all right?" Janie asked, seeming to study Emily's body language and facial expression as she had sat down.

Emily forced a smile on her face, trying to forget what Bill had told her just minutes before she walked into the pub.

"I'm fine."

Questions had haunted her since she pulled away from that curb. Why did Crane want to kill her? Did he figure out that it was her that snuck into Bill's apartment and then confronted him on the rooftop that one night?

"Emily," Louise said, catching her attention. "You certainly don't look fine."

"I'm just a little tired," she explained, as it was partially true. She ran her hand over her face. "I'm glad that I'm not working the shift tonight."

Suddenly Janie reached forward and grabbed Emily's wrist, pulling it towards her.

"Holy crap! Is that...?"

The quick gesture caught Emily off guard until she realized what Janie had seen.

"Oh my," was all that Louise had said, as she leaned over with a broad smile to see the ring on Emily's hand.

"Is this what I think it is?" Janie asked with excitement that she could barely contain.

Emily smiled meekly and simply nodded. She leaned forward to speak as they had already caught the attention of most of the patrons in the pub.

"He gave it to me earlier today," she told them softly. "It caught me completely off guard."

"I'll say," Louise remarked. "You haven't been going out with him for that long. Speaking as a friend who's only concerned for you, are you certain that this is something you're ready for? Bruce Wayne has a history of being a playboy. I'm sure he has had his fair share of wild nights. He doesn't seem the type that would settle down."

Emily shrugged and smiled.

"You'd be surprised," Emily told them.

"Well, if he's captured your heart, that tells me a lot about the man," Janie said, reaching for the pitcher of water sitting in the centre of their table. She began to fill the three glasses at the table, after which Emily and Louise both took theirs.

"To you and Bruce," Janie said softly, before clinking their glasses together and each took a drink from their glasses. Janie decided to continue. "And may your marriage last longer than mine ever did."

Louise let out a laugh as Emily nearly spit the wine out from her mouth. She quickly recovered and laughed along with Louise.

After this, attempts at keeping the conversation headed in the direction of benefit preparations proved to be difficult. Although they kept on track, the meeting ended up going longer than expected due to some laughter from stories being exchanged. It made Emily forget the events that occurred prior to meeting with Louise and Janie.

It wasn't until she was on her drive back to Wayne manor that she heard her cell phone begin to ring from the seat beside her. She reached for it and turned it over, seeing the illuminated screen with the caller ID - B. Wayne. With a quick glance at the time on the clock telling her it was nearly midnight, she pressed the button to put the call on speaker.

"I didn't think you'd be up yet," she said, cheerfully. "I wasn't expecting you to be up until morning."

_"I know that you went to that transmitter location_," he quickly admitted.

"Bruce, I just happened to be going by there on the way to the meeting. It's not a big deal."

_"It is, when you park the car and stop for 5 minutes and 32 seconds."_

What the hell?

"Were you tracking me?"

_"No. Alfred was,_" Bruce replied. _"I just happened to come downstairs when he was going over the download data from Dravis' computer and I saw that he had made sure that you had made it to the pub."_

Emily pulled up to a light and stopped.

"Wait," she stated, as a realization hit her. "You're out of bed?!"

_"Emily..."_

"No, get your ass back upstairs."

She heard Bruce scoff. "_You're the one who went alone to that corner and you're angry with me that I'm out of bed?!"_

Emily let out an exasperated sigh as she began driving again. "Look, I'll talk to you about what happened when I get home. I really don't want to talk about it while I'm driving."

_"What? What happened?"_

Emily could hear the urgency and the tone in his voice had changed.

"Nothing really," she assured him. "I just spoke with Bill."

_"What did he say?"_

Emily paused and shook her head as she slowed down behind traffic.

"Bruce, I'll talk to you about it when I get back," she told him, just before she hung up.

She knew that hanging up on him would leave him to stew in his frustration. In fact, she noticed him call back twice on her way back to Wayne Manor and she wasn't surprised when she saw him make his way towards the front door as she walked in.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" he asked bitterly, as she met him halfway across the large foyer. He was still wearing the flannel PJ pants and the same t-shirt that he had on when she had left him.

"You should be in bed," she quickly retorted, ignoring his question as Emily put her arm around Bruce's torso and walked with him towards the staircase.

Bruce let out an exasperated sigh. "Em, you can't just go after Crane like that on your own."

"I wasn't going after Crane," she replied. "I was merely checking out a location on my way through and I happened to see Bill. That's the only reason why I stopped."

Bruce paused and nodded, almost coming to the conclusion that he was all right with the explanation.

"What did he say?"

Emily paused, not certain how she should say it. Finally, it just suddenly fell out of her mouth.

"He's helping Crane so that Crane will not kill me."

That revelation caught Bruce off guard and he stopped halfway up the staircase for a moment.

"Crane is using you as leverage to get Bill to work for him," Bruce concluded. As he digested that information, he looked at Emily. "Did he say what he was doing?"

Emily shook her head. "He was eager to get me to leave as quickly as possible. He looked like a classic stereotypical drug addict that we see everyday at the clinic. Bill didn't look good."

Neither spoke until they reached the top of the staircase.

"He saw the ring," Emily told him, softly. "And he didn't seem to pleased to know it was from you."

Bruce sighed, taking her hand as they walked into the bedroom.

"I know you well enough that telling you not to do something isn't going to stop you from doing it, so I wont even bother," he said, with a smirk as he turned to face her, cupping her cheek as he continued to hold her hand. "But you must promise me that you wont knowingly do anything that would put yourself in harms way. I want to be able to come home to you every morning."

Emily smiled, squeezing his hand. "I promise."

* * *

The morning sun shone across the bedspread and it caught Emily's eyes. She rolled away from the window and found herself pressed up against the side of Bruce's warm body. Emily moved closer to him as she had gotten used to doing for the past few months and even rested her arm across Bruce's stomach, being careful of the stitches on his side. Slowly, she closed her eyes again, attempting to fall back asleep. Bruce's chest rose and fell in perfect rhythm indicating that he was in a deep sleep.

Sleep wasn't finding her.

After another few minutes of laying still in bed with her eyes open, Emily slid out from between the blankets, and managed to get dressed into shorts and a t-shirt before sneaking out of the room. The morning sun shone across the marble floors as she made her way towards the kitchen. As she neared the open door, she could hear the television on in the small room.

"Good morning, Miss Emily," Alfred said, cheerfully. "I should have breakfast ready in about a half hour or so."

"Sounds good," she told him, reaching for a muffin off the counter and taking a glass full of juice from the table. "Bruce is still asleep and I'm going to go for a quick jog around the property."

"I'll wake him before you're back," Alfred told her with a smile.

She quickly drank the juice and smirked before she headed out the back door with the muffin in hand.

* * *

Emily had gotten to know the extensive Wayne property pretty well. Bruce had shown her the outlining edges of the property and had a fairly well traveled path that she had been using. As much as she liked having the company of another jogger, she enjoyed being alone with her thoughts. The wind blowing through the new leaves and the green grass felt great against her skin. The morning smelled wonderful.

She pushed the ear buds into her ears and turned up the volume on her MP3 player. The bass rhythmically boomed in her ears and created a perfect beat for her to jog to.

Her mind thought of everything from the benefit at the end of the week, to Bill's involvement with Crane, to Bruce's injuries, to the ring on her finger and her work at the clinic. So much had changed and so much had happened in less than 6 months. If anyone had told her a year ago what she knew now, she would call them crazy.

After a few minutes of thinking and running, Emily found herself having to slow down. She was having trouble catching her breath. She felt her face flush as she began to walk.

What is wrong with me?

Emily looked back at Wayne manor across the vast field of green grass and realized she was just barely three quarters the way around the property. She had gone further in the past before getting winded.

Am I finally stressing out?

There was a lot on her mind and she found that she couldn't focus on just one thing anymore.

Taking a deep breath, she turned up the volume on the ear buds and continued her jog, keeping her mind occupied with the music. Yet again, after a few minutes of pushing herself Emily had to slow down. Her face glistened with sweat as she tried to catch her breath. Emily pulled the ear buds from her ears, hearing herself breathing deeply.

Emily stopped walking and leaned over, feeling herself suddenly getting light headed. She turned her head and looked over at Wayne manor, realizing how far she really was from it. Emily could see the backdoor from which she had originally left. It might as well had been a mile away.

Slowly, she went down onto her knees as she felt the world spin around her and continued to lean forward, hoping to end the chaos and pounding in her head. Instead, it just went white and the sound faded.

* * *

The cold wash cloth on the back of her neck was the first thing she could actually recall. Emily reached behind her head and pulled the wash cloth from her neck and pushed herself up to sit up on the couch. She looked around and realized that she was sitting in the den and Bruce sat beside her as he spoke to Alfred who seemed to be busying himself at a table with a glass and a pitcher.

"She could probably handle that juice now," Bruce said, realizing that Emily was alert once again.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

"You passed out from exhaustion," Bruce said as Alfred walked over and handed Emily a glass of orange juice. "Alfred saw you from the kitchen window just as I was coming down."

Emily nodded as she drank from the glass.

"You're colour is coming back," Alfred commented. "I think you overdid it this morning."

"How can I overdo it when I did less than I usually do?"

Bruce shrugged, looking up to Alfred for an answer.

Emily spoke again. "I'm just stressed. I've had a lot on my mind lately."

She noticed Bruce watching her, with concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine," she stated emphatically for him, and smiled, hoping to alleviate his concerns.

He sighed. "Then let me help. What can I do to lessen the stress?"

Emily smiled and leaned forward taking his face between her hands.

"That's sweet, but there isn't much that you can do," she said, until a thought came to mind. "Unless, you want to help write a speech with me."

"A speech?"

Emily nodded. "Your board wants me to say a speech at the benefit on behalf of the clinic and I haven't done any public speaking since University. I have no idea where to start and you must have given your fair share of speeches."

Bruce smiled and leaned forward, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'll help you," he said. "But honestly, the speeches that I give are usually written for me or I give them on the fly."

Emily smirked. "Just try not to make my words sound like a pompous, air headed playboy."

Bruce chuckled.

* * *

He was feeling better. Despite the ache in his side from the pulling stitches, it wasn't too bad. Bruce had a high pain tolerance to begin with but he also knew that he didn't want to sit at home all day. After the exciting events of the morning, he surprised Emily and told her that he would take her out for lunch downtown.

He would glance over in her direction as he drove the Audi through the city. He couldn't get his mind over the fact that something might be wrong with her. Bruce studied her body language for any indication that she may be in pain or hiding some sort of infliction. He found nothing, but he still couldn't get over that nagging feeling.

"So, where are we going for lunch?" Emily asked.

He smiled and thought, coming up with a location. "I was thinking of that new bistro between Fifth and College Avenue."

Emily paused, looking at the street sign they had passed.

"Then why are we heading away from that area?"

"Leslie called just before we left," Bruce simply replied. "She wanted to take a look at the stitches and see how the healing was going."

Emily seemed to study Bruce as he kept his eyes on the traffic. She crossed her arms.

"I could have just taken a look at them," she told him.

Bruce merely shrugged.

"Well, you met Dr. Thompkins and you know how insistent she can be," Bruce said. "She wanted to see them first hand."

Emily nodded, and kept silent for the rest of the trip. Bruce was hiding something. In the months of knowing Bruce, she had come to be able to read him more and more.

Bruce parked a few blocks from Leslie's office. They walked the rest of the way and even discreetly made their way to the back door. Bruce had texted Leslie as they made their way around the building and found the older woman waiting for them. She smiled as she pushed the door open for them to walk in.

"Bruce told me that you had passed out this morning," Leslie said, as she walked beside Emily and sat down on a chair.

Emily glanced back at Bruce, realizing the whole fiasco about his stitches and lunch was bull shit. She let out a light scoff and sat down, not bothering to take out her frustration on the older woman. Leslie was innocent and was simply doing what any concerned doctor would do.

"As I told Bruce," she began, glaring over at the man as he sat down in a chair along the wall. "It was no big deal."

Leslie glanced over at Bruce who simply shrugged before looking back to Emily.

"I could run some simple blood tests to make sure everything is all right," Leslie suggested. "It could be as simple as low blood sugar or anemia."

Emily shook her head. "I'm not anemic nor do I have low blood sugar."

The older woman smiled politely, as she opened up a file folder on her lap.

"My dear, people don't pass out for no reason," Leslie began, pulling a pen from her lab coat pocket. "I noticed a few things about you when we first met and now with the fainting, it makes me concerned for your health."

Emily was taken back and surprised that she would even suspect anything. "Things? What kind of things?"

"You were exhausted," Leslie said. "There were times when I was explaining things to you and it seemed that your mind was elsewhere. The plain fact that you fell asleep on the chair beside Bruce's bedside while I was speaking with Alfred tells me that something may be wrong with you."

"Nothing is wrong with me," Emily argued. "I feel fine. Yes, I've been tired lately. I assume anyone in my position would be. I'm heading up a benefit party this week. I've taken leadership within the small clinic, something that I haven't ever done along with a boat load of other issues that are facing my life right now. So, I think those things alone are likely to make anyone exhausted."

Leslie nodded and wrote down notes in the file in front of her. "How about mood swings?"

"Not really."

"Weight change?"

Emily shrugged and glanced over at Bruce. "I've been exercising a lot with Bruce over the past month and I have put on a little weight. I'm guessing it's from muscle gain."

Leslie looked over at Bruce.

"Have you noticed any change?"

He leaned forward in the chair and looked over at Emily.

"Physically, yeah," he replied. "I have to say that she's become more short tempered than usual. It's been easier to tick her off lately."

Emily quickly turned, a look of incredulousness on her face.

"What?! Are you kidding me?"

Bruce held up his hands and nodded. "Leslie asked."

Leslie wrote down some notes and then looked back to Emily, as the younger woman scoffed.

"How about appetite?"

"It's fine," Emily replied, starting to wonder where this was all leading to. "I've been eating more than usual but it's only because of the stress I've been under."

Leslie nodded and wrote down more notes before looking back up at her.

"When was your last period?"

Emily paused, as the colour drained from her face and her mind raced through her mental calendar. Emily chuckled nervously.

"Seriously? You're thinking that my fainting was because I'm pregnant?"

Leslie smiled.

"I'm just trying to exhaust all possible reasons. Humour an old lady," she insisted, as she passed Emily a small calendar from her desk.

Emily didn't dare look over at Bruce as he sat a few feet from her. From the corner of her eye, she could see him sit up straighter in his chair. She was certain that he could hear her own heart beating as she flipped through the calendar. Emily did her best to keep her hands from shaking as she went back as far as the end of April and here they were in mid-July.

"It's probably been around 10 or 11 weeks," Emily said softly, barely audibly as she handed the calendar back to Leslie.

The older woman had a smile on her face.

"I always find it odd that us doctors are the least conscious of what's going on in our own bodies," she commented, as she stood up and walked over to her desk.

"Just because I'm late...very late, doesn't mean anything," Emily argued. "I've been working a lot and I've been very stressed out lately. Stress can certainly be a factor in why I'm so late."

Leslie nodded. "You're very right. It can be. But coupled with your exhaustion, weight gain and now fainting, it's not pointing toward stress." Leslie paused and smiled. She noticed the expressions on both Bruce and Emily's faces. "This is a good thing. I know of so many couples who would love to be in your position."

Finally, Emily looked over at Bruce seeing the same terror that she felt inside her mirrored on his face. She opened her mouth to speak, not certain what she should even say.

"Can we find out for certain?" Bruce suddenly asked.

"Of course," Leslie said, happily. The woman pushed out her chair and walked over a large cabinet, and searched through it before pulling out a white, plastic wrapper. With a smile, she handed it to Emily.

"I doubt that I need to tell you how it works," Leslie quipped, gaining a small smile from Emily.

Emily stood up. "I've taken one or two of these in my life."

Leslie directed Emily to the bathroom and sat back down, letting silence fill the small room. She glanced up from writing in Emily's new file as Bruce sat in the chair. The man tapped his toes and fidgeted in his seat as he anxiously rubbed his hands together. In all her years, she had never seen Bruce Wayne act more nervous.

"She'll be fine, Bruce," Leslie assured him. "And if I'm right and she is pregnant, then the baby will be fine as well. After all, it'll have those strong Wayne genes wrapped in there."

Bruce nodded. "I'm not concerned for Emily. It's...um..." He paused and Leslie put down her glasses as she watched him struggle with whatever he was trying to say; another thing she rarely saw of Bruce.

"I grew up without parents," he finally said. "I know what it's like to live over half a lifetime without a Father. I wouldn't want to wish that upon anyone."

"And your concern is that your child may one day experience that as well," Leslie concluded. She sighed. "Bruce, what happened to you was horrible, but things like that do not happen every day. Look at me! I knew you before you were born. I lived through the depression in this city and the horrible characters that were born out of it, yet somehow I survived, along with thousands of others, including yourself, Alfred and Emily. Chances are, your child will live to see his Father retire from all that he does at a ripe old age."

Bruce smirked.

"Who said that I was ever going to retire?"

Leslie chuckled when she saw Bruce turn towards the door as it was opened. Emily walked in and closed the door behind her, holding a white stick in her hand.

She shrugged and let out a sigh, looking from Leslie to Bruce. A small smile grew on her face when she looked at Bruce.

* * *

Bruce drove through Gotham, shifting gears as he slowed down and then sped up. Neither him nor Emily who sat beside him had said a word since they had left Dr. Thompkins' clinic. Emily pressed a button in the centre console which rolled down her window slightly, allowing the fresh air into the warm car. She looked out the window, watching as the buildings passed by them. Occasionally, she glanced over at Bruce who kept his eyes on the road. Finally, she sighed and turned back to the buildings.

He heard her sigh as she looked back out the window. Bruce didn't know where to start. His mind just seemed to disconnect from the conversation at the clinic once he had heard Emily's words of, 'it's positive'. He didn't know how to react and the best way that he knew how was to not.

"I know that you're not happy about this," Emily finally said, looking forward at the tail lights of the car in front of them.

"I never said that."

"But you haven't said a thing since we left Dr. Thompkins."

"Neither have you," Bruce countered.

He was right.

Bruce and Emily barely said a word to each other after they walked out of Leslie's office. Emily was too afraid to ask Bruce what he thought, especially when she, herself didn't know what to think.

"What am I supposed to say? I'm sorry? We made a mistake? Because I'm starting to feel sick to my stomach about what's going on with us and I doubt that it's morning sickness."

"Nothing is changing between us," Bruce assured her, looking over at her as the car came to a stop. "It's just something that I have to get used to. It's the last thing that I ever thought would happen."

"No kidding. The clinic has always been my baby. I don't know how it'll feel if that status gets shifted to someone else," Emily quipped, matching his smile.

Bruce chuckled, and reached over to take Emily's hand. Still, she wasn't entirely convinced.

"You're sure that you're all right with this? What about Batman?"

He nodded, as he turned to see the traffic begin to move ahead of them again.

"That's the one thing that scares me the most. This is more than just another person that would mean the world to me." He paused glancing down quickly at her stomach, although there wasn't any outward evidence of what was taking place inside. "This child would be completely helpless if anyone came after me."

"You're forgetting that I would beat the shit out of anyone who would threaten my family. You're not alone in this, Bruce."

Family. That's something that Bruce had never considered. He had a family.

Bruce smiled.

"And neither are you."

Emily smiled at him and then watched his expression suddenly change as she felt her body propel forward but was held back by the seatbelt. The sound of squealing tires and crunching metal and glass shattering filled the air as Emily reached for anything to hold onto as the Audi began to turn. As soon as it had begun, it stopped.

Bruce quickly turned to Emily, seeing the look of surprise on her face as she breathed quickly and stared straight ahead to see a pillow of smoke in front of them. He pulled off his seatbelt and reached for Emily, taking her face in his hands.

"Are you all right?!" he exclaimed. Still, her attention wasn't on him. "Emily!"

Finally, she turned. "What happened?"

"Car accident," he said, as Emily pulled off her seatbelt and pushed open the car door.

Bruce had spun the Audi towards the curb and narrowly missed the pickup in front of them. The Audi was fine. Ahead of the pickup a small sedan that was pinched between another car that sideswiped it.

People were staggering out of their cars ahead of them. More than a few were in shock as they sat down on the curbs.

Emily ran towards the sedan. A young woman with black hair and purple highlights sat in the passenger seat and was screaming. Emily saw the red gash on the woman's forehead.

"Hey!" Emily called out, knocking on her window to get the woman's attention. She woman didn't hear and instead Emily tried the door. It was stuck.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Emily looked and saw Bruce beside her. He quickly took ahold of the door and pulled on it. It moved slightly and Emily managed to wedge her fingers inside the frame alongside Bruce's and together they pulled on the door.

The door scrapped against the concrete as they pulled on it. Once it got past a certain point, it flew open. Emily looked at the woman's legs and saw how she had been pushed into the front console.

"I'm a doctor," she told the woman as Emily glanced over at the driver as his body was slumped against the wheel, blood pouring from the wound in his head. Emily could see the headlights of the oncoming car in the window. Painfully, she ignored him.

"My name is Emily, what's yours?"

"J...J..Jenna," she replied, focusing on Emily for the first time. Emily quickly pulled off her sweater and drapped it over Jenna's torso. The young woman was going into shock.

"Can you get me out of here?"

"I can't. Not yet," Emily replied. "But I'll stay with you until help comes."

Sirens could be heard in the distance as more and more people seemed to watch the scene. Emily looked over her shoulder and saw that Bruce had disappeared but found him over by the car that had sideswiped Jenna's car. She saw him and another two men help some people away from the car.

"Is Mark, my brother all right?"

Emily didn't need to ask who Mark was. She glanced over at the lifeless man at the wheel.

"I can't tell from here, but I'm sure he needs to get to the hospital as well," Emily replied.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Bruce crouch down beside her.

"Everyone else is out of the cars and the ambulance is just trying to get through the traffic down the road," he said, glancing over at Jenna.

Emily smiled at Jenna. "Help is coming."

"Y...You're Bruce Wayne," she said with a smile.

A smile tugged at his lips. "I am. I'm sorry that we had to meet this way."

Jenna even smiled and managed to chuckle although she winced at the pain it caused. She looked to Emily.

"I'm supposed to hate you," she said, which surprised Emily. Jenna smiled and tried to stifle her laughter. "You're dating Bruce Wayne and I was so...so disappointed when I found out that he was..f..finally taken. I missed my chance."

Emily smiled.

"But I can't hate someone who is trying to help me," Jenna added. She took a breath and began to sob. "I don't want to die."

Emily brushed her hand over Jenna's black and purple hair, attempting to calm her down. She took her hand, which Jenna promptly held onto tightly.

"You aren't going to die, Jenna," Bruce said, over Emily's shoulder.

"That's right," Emily stated. "Because you're going to be coming to our wedding."

The words caught the young woman's attention as a smile came back to her face.

"Now I really hate you."

Emily chuckled as she noticed Bruce had disappeared. She turned back to Jenna.

"Can you keep a secret? It'll probably make you hate me a little more."

She could see the confusion and interest grow on the younger woman's face as she nodded.

"I'm pregnant."

A smile grew on Jenna's face as she shook her head. "I can't hate you for that. I have a one year old son at home so I know exactly how it feels when you know there's life growing inside of you. It's wonderful."

A commotion approaching them caught Emily's attention as Bruce with three EMT's ran towards them.

Emily never let go of Jenna's hand as she quickly explained the situation to the EMT's. After finally getting her out of the car, Emily saw first hand how mangled Jenna's feet had become while they were trapped. She watched as she was strapped onto a gurney and rolled over to an ambulance. With an assurance to the young woman that she would visit her at the hospital, Emily and Bruce stood back as the ambulance left the area while the police approached them for a statement. She reached beside her and took Bruce's hand as he spoke with an officer.

It wasn't until then that they noticed the line of photographers standing behind the police tape that had been set up around the scene. They continued to flash their cameras in their direction. Emily wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

* * *

"Thank goodness you're both all right," Alfred said as Emily and Bruce walked though the door, looking a little worse for wear. Emily had Bruce's jacket on and Bruce had his shirt untucked from his pants and his hair was in disarray. "The accident has been all over the news."

"Thank goodness for Bruce's quick reflexes and driving skills," Emily added, as she sat down on a chair and pulled off her shoes.

Bruce smiled as he took his jacket from Emily. Alfred took it from him and proceeded to hang it up.

"I trust that the appointment with Dr. Thompkins went well."

Bruce chuckled and smiled as he crossed his arms. "It did."

Emily gestured silently to Bruce and pointed to Alfred, indicating that she wanted him to say something to him. They watched as Alfred closed the closet door and turned to look at the couple. Alfred looked at the pair, confused.

"Is something wrong? You both don't look too good."

Bruce shook his head as Emily spoke.

"Nothing is wrong. We do want to tell you something though."

"All right," Alfred said, looking to Bruce, who simply met Emily's prodding eyes.

"Um, Wayne Manor is about to get a little bit more crowded," Bruce said.

"It is? Are you planning a party, sir?"

He shook his head. "No, not a party. Just one, small guest that should be arriving in...about six months or so and then wouldn't be leaving anytime soon."

Alfred digested the words, and watched Emily's smile on her face as it dawned on him.

"You're pregnant?"

Emily nodded as Alfred's face lit up. He quickly wrapped his arms around Emily and Bruce.

"I was beginning to think that your newborn cries would be the last I'd hear in this house," Alfred said to Bruce, with a glint of tears in the corner of his eyes. "A baby is something to celebrate! Come with me to the kitchen and I'm certain that I can find some sparkling cider or something along that line."

Emily was about to follow Bruce and Alfred to the kitchen when she heard her cell phone chime from her purse. She turned and picked it up from inside the bag.

Bruce saw her face blanche as she read the screen.

"Em, what is it?"

"That accident was no accident," she said, handing him the phone.

Bruce quickly read the text message.

"It was meant for us."


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you so much for the reviews, messages, favourites...etc. I'll try to get the next part out very soon. The more you bug/review/favourite, the sooner it'll come. :)**

* * *

"All of that because you spoke with Bill?!" Bruce exclaimed, punching his fist into the hanging punching bag. "That was Crane's idea of getting Bill's attention!?"

Bruce had forgone the celebration in lieu of blowing off some steam in the gym.

Emily watched from the side of the mats as he relentlessly beat at the bag, until beads of sweat fell down his forehead. Finally, he stopped, putting his arms on either side of the bag to keep it from swaying.

He paused and pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor before quickly turning and kicking the bag. Emily could see the stitches from the days prior sitting on his side.

"I know that you want to go after Crane," she said.

Although he didn't turn, Bruce heard her speak and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm not going to just sit here and let him do something like this," Bruce growled as he punched the bag. "He's a pot that's ready to boil over."

"I don't think it's a good idea that you go out tonight."

Bruce paused and turned to her, completely out of breath.

"You're stitches are still healing and any strenuous activity could cause them to tear," she added. "You need to rest."

Bruce scoffed at her statement. "I can't rest, Emily. Not when Crane is out there threatening your life."

Emily sighed and crossed her arms as Bruce returned to mercilessly beating the punching bag. She finally pulled her shirt over her head, revealing a light blue tank top underneath. She walked over to a pair of sparring gloves and pulled them on. That caught Bruce's attention.

"What are you doing?" he asked, pausing from his punching.

Emily smirked. "What does it look like?"

He watched as she walked over to the other punching bag beside him. "You think that you're the only one who is mad as hell about this? I'm just picturing Crane's face on the bag."

Bruce turned to her as she gave the bag a few hard, straight punches.

"Are you sure that it's a good idea for you to do this?"

Emily paused and looked at Bruce, speaking as she punched the bag. "You were training me, flipping me over on my back numerous times while we had no idea that I was pregnant. I don't think a little kickboxing is going to hurt. Besides it's good practice for when I run into Crane."

"Uh, no," Bruce quickly interjected. "You will not be running into Crane."

Emily stopped and began to laugh as she walked over to Bruce. "I always know how to get you riled up."

She wrapped her gloved hands around his neck and met his lips.

"I have no intention of searching out for Crane. I promised you that I wouldn't knowingly put myself in harms way and I intend to keep that promise. That doesn't mean that I can't relieve some stress by punching the bag for a half hour or so a day."

"Just don't overdo it," Bruce said, as Emily walked away from him.

He watched her as she walked away and saw her pause in front of the mirror as she began to take off the gloves. Bruce noticed her catch his gaze in the mirror.

"Don't even think it," he warned, pointing at her. She grinned, putting her hands on her hips.

"Think what?"

"I remember the first time you came down to the bunker, I caught you staring at yourself in the mirror and commenting about how you're needing to lose some weight."

Emily ran her hands over her stomach, feeling the small hard bump below her belly button. Why she had never noticed it before, baffled her. It seemed to have become more noticeable to her once she knew the truth.

"I wasn't thinking that," she said. "I was trying to figure out how long I'm going to be able to wear my scrubs to work before this is noticeable."

"Aren't you going to mention it? I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually."

Emily smirked. "At the rate I'm going, it wouldn't take long."

She saw Bruce turn and punch the bag once again. Emily picked up her shirt.

"Regardless, I need to get some rest before I go to work tonight."

Bruce turned. "You're working tonight?"

"Yeah, I start late too."

As much as he hated the thought, he knew there was no point in trying to dissuade her from going in. He nodded.

"I'll give you a ride in and pick you up in the morning."

Emily smiled. "That's nice of you Bruce, but you'll be busy tonight and I doubt you'll be up to driving at 6am."

"If you're out, I wont be sleeping anyways," he told her. "And don't worry about tonight."

* * *

He was bleeding. It was so swollen around his one eye that Bill could barely see. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and he quickly spit it out onto the concrete floor.

"Let me remind you of why you're here, Doctor," Crane said. "I need you to perfect this toxin for me because I'm running out of test subjects for you. They're all dying."

"I don't think that toxin is going to work," Bill admitted, while Crane gestured to one of his men to once again punch Bill in the gut, causing the man to fall to the floor in agony.

"You will get it to work," Crane said, crouching down beside Bill. "You have the formula right there on your damn desk. Do you seriously want me to kill her this time?!"

"No," Bill growled from his place on the floor.

"You know how close we were last time. I underestimated Mister Wayne's driving capabilities. The next time I wont be so careless."

Crane looked down at Bill, hearing him cry out. Crane tipped his head to the side as he thought. "Tell you what; I'll give you another chance."

Bill turned his head and looked up at Crane, thanking silently whoever was looking out for him that he had another chance.

"But I still need to show you how serious I am and send a statement to a friend of mine."

* * *

Bruce was right. She didn't have to worry about her ride. Batman had pulled the tumbler into a dark alleyway three blocks from the clinic and then he watched her from the rooftops as she made her way into work before beginning his rounds in the city. Batman had also promised her that he wouldn't overdo it that night either. With the stitches pulling at his sides as he jumped from one building to the next was enough to remind him that they were still there, and still fresh.

Thankfully, it was a quiet night. Batman looked over at the corner where Emily had met with Bill and unfortunately there was nothing going on.

"_Sir,_" Batman suddenly heard in his ear piece. "_The tracker that we had put inside with the money when you were to do the money exchange has suddenly been turned on."_

"Turned on?"

"_Yes_," he said. "_The computer is trying to pinpoint the exact location as to where it is. I should have it..."_

When Batman didn't hear Alfred continue, he spoke.

"Where is it?"

"_The Westview Clinic_."

* * *

Emily kept the polite smile on her face. To those who knew her would have realized that it was forced. Janie watched in amusement as Emily walked beside a young teenage boy back towards the door leading out to the waiting room. The clinic saw all kinds of people, but this kid was a regular with his short mohawk, green muscle shirt and a tattoo of a snake wrapped around his arms. Janie knew exactly what the teen was there for as she had once had the honour of taking care of him once.

The smile on Emily's face disappeared the moment he walked through the door. Janie chuckled as she walked over to her.

"Was it the same as last time?" she asked softly.

Emily didn't reply and merely nodded.

"The next time you know he's here, you can take him," Emily stated. "I had to bite my tongue so many times."

Janie chuckled again and shook her head as she took the file from Emily to place back on the shelf.

Emily stifled a yawn as she grabbed the next file off of Louise's desk.

"Hun, you look like hell warmed over," Louise commented. "Why don't you take a break?"

"I'll be fine," Emily stated, glancing down at her watch, seeing that she only had three more hours left to her shift.

The waiting room had died down to only a handful of people in the past four hours.

"Suit yourself. I'm taking my break right now," Janie said, grabbing an apple from the shelf and took a big bite before winking and heading back towards the staff room.

Emily smiled and looked down at the chart in her hand before walking over to the waiting room door. She pushed it open.

"Kyle?"

A young couple in the corner looked up, but neither moved.

Emily looked down at the chart to ensure she had the right name as the couple shrugged.

"There was a young man here a few minutes ago," the woman told her. "He stepped out for a smoke once that boy with the tattoo's walked out."

Emily walked towards the front door and pushed it open. She looked down the sidewalk, seeing no one around the building. Finally, she walked back inside and smiled at the couple.

"I guess you're next," she said. "I'll call you in a moment."

Emily disappeared through the door and grabbed the next chart.

"That was odd," Louise commented. "He had been waiting for a few hours. You'd think that after waiting that long that you'd stick around."

Emily shrugged as she read the chart of the man who waited his turn. Just then, Janie stuck her head out of the staff room.

"Emily, your cell is ringing."

She turned towards Janie.

"Thanks Janie, I'll get it later," Emily said.

"Whoever it is has already called twice," Janie told her.

"Can you grab it for me then?"

Janie nodded and went back into the staff room and searched through Emily's purse before grabbing the cell. She looked at the ID and found that there was none.

"Hello, Dr. Tucker's cell phone. Janie speaking."

Janie walked out of the staff room with the phone to her ear.

"Yeah, Bruce. She's here."

Emily turned, hearing Janie speak Bruce's name. The woman passed her the cell phone making a face.

"Bruce?"

_"You need to get out of there."_

Emily could hear the engine of the tumbler in the background. She knew exactly who was calling. She turned and walked away from Janie, lowering her voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"_Crane_," Bruce said. "_He's turned on the transmitter and it's displaying the location as inside the clinic."_

"What?!"

Emily walked towards the waiting area but suddenly felt herself being pushed back by the doors as a deafening sound filled her ears. In her shock, the cell phone dropped from her hand, abruptly ending the conversation. Emily couldn't remember how she ended up across the room, but she opened her eyes and could clearly make out the black sky above her through the haze of dust. It took a moment before she realized what had happened and that she was partially covered by the solid waiting room doors.

She coughed as the dust floated around her. The smell of smoke permeated the air and Emily looked across the room and could see flames licking parts of the wall.

Carefully, she pushed the debris off of her and realized that something was dripping onto her face. She looked up, but couldn't see anything. Emily ran her hand over her forehead and realized that it was blood that was dripping down her cheek.

"Janie!" she tried to yell, as her voice wavered. It was silent until she heard coughing coming from across the room.

"I'm here," Janie said, as she pushed the staff room door open. "Are you all right?"

Emily managed to get to her feet and step over the debris as she met Janie in the middle of the room.

"Where's Louise?"

The women looked around, no longer seeing Louise where she had been sitting. Louise's desk had been blown back and her chair was no where to be seen.

"Louise!" Janie called out as Emily saw a leg partially exposed.

Without saying a word, she rushed over to the woman and began pulling the debris from on top of her body. Janie was beside her and reached for Louise's neck, desperate to feel for a pulse. Emily paused as she waited for Janie to tell her how the woman was.

"She has a pulse," Janie told her as they continued to pull pieces of debris from on top of her body.

Finally, they each took one of Louise's arms and managed to pull her to her feet. More than once, they heard her moan from the movement. Emily clenched her teeth, as she felt the sting in her arm for the first time as she picked up Louise. She glanced down at the inside of her left arm and noticed dozens of cuts and speckles of blood on her long sleeve shirt. Emily didn't want to imagine what it looked like underneath.

Together, they carried and dragged Louise through where the doors once stood and into the empty waiting room. Emily looked around the debris filled room, looking for the couple and felt sick to her stomach when she didn't see them but saw blood on the broken glass windows.

They could hear the sirens of approaching emergency vehicles and saw them pull up around the building just as they walked out.

"I want this area sealed off!" Emily heard someone shout out as the EMT's approached them.

As they took Louise from her and Janie, Emily looked over to the sidewalk and felt her heart fall when she saw the EMT's around their unmoving bodies. She had spoken to them just moments before.

"Was there anyone else inside?"

Emily turned to see Commissioner Gordon standing beside her. She shook her head.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I had a phone call saying that something might happen here and given the circumstances of the director's disappearance, I wasn't taking any chances."

Emily nodded, and ran her hand across her forehead, feeling the blood and dust that was partially dried to her skin. She pulled back her sleeve and saw the dozens of shards of glass embedded in her arm. She felt light headed as she could feel the multiple stings. It wasn't the bleeding or the that concerned her.

"You need to see a medic," Gordon said, gently taking her by the arm and leading her to an ambulance.

"I really should go to a hospital," she told him.

He smiled politely.

"I'll let the medic's decide that but it doesn't look that serious that would require a trip to the hospital right away."

"I'm pregnant," she said, stopping him.. "And I was blown back a good ten feet and found myself buried under the waiting room door.

Gordon was shocked and looked around at where they stood and the available officers around him. The fire department was in the midst of putting out the fire that grew out from the rooftop. One ambulance had just left with Louise and the other was leaving with the couple. Janie sat inside the last ambulance as they treated her superficial wounds.

It was then that he saw him.

"I'll find someone to get you there," Gordon said, walking away from her. "Just give me a moment."

Gordon walked towards the shadows, knowing who was waiting for him.

"It was Crane," Batman replied.

"How do you know?"

"I know."

Batman looked back out to where Emily stood, holding onto her arm as she watched the fire department put out the fire. The fire reflected off of her face and Batman could clearly see in the darkness that her face was etched with blood and dust.

"This was a message from Crane," Batman said softly. "He's been using Dr. Dravis and he must not be getting the results he's needing."

"So the psychopath blows up the clinic in order to show his power."

Batman nodded, looking back out towards Emily.

Gordon noticed.

"There were two fatalities," he told him. "And many injuries."

He turned to find that Batman had already disappeared. With a shrug, he walked back out towards Emily.

"Come with me," he told her. "I'll get you to the hospital."

* * *

The nurses in Emergency took one look at Emily's face and moved her right into triage. They had heard on the news what had happened and after seeing the two ambulances come in, they weren't surprised that there were more injuries. Gordon stayed by her side until Alfred had arrived and Emily soon found herself sitting on a bed on the OB floor, with her left arm wrapped up and forehead stitched.

"Master Bruce should be here anytime," he told Emily from where he stood, looking out the window which overlooked the expanse of the parking lot far below.

"I know," she said, softly as the door suddenly opened.

Instead of it being Bruce, a doctor walked in with a folder in his hand. He looked from Alfred to Emily sitting on the bed.

"Miss Tucker?"

Emily nodded.

"I'm Doctor David Campbell," he said, walking towards her with his hand extended. Emily shook his hand and introduced Alfred to the man.

"I'm going to check on you and the baby and ensure that everything is all right," he told her as he pulled over a portable ultrasound machine from the wall towards the bed. "I was told that you were involved in that explosion at the clinic downtown."

Emily didn't say a word but simply nodded.

"Can you describe to me how you fell or what could have landed on you?"

Emily thought back and as she tried to explain, she found her eyes welling up with tears. She felt Alfred's hand on her shoulder which she promptly took in her own hand, grateful for the support. Dr. Campbell smiled sympathetically.

He encouraged her to lie down as he prepared the machine. Gently, he pressed on her stomach asking if she felt pain anywhere.

"Only in my back," she replied. "But I landed on the edge of a chair leg."

Dr. Campbell nodded as he felt for her uterus and then reached for the ultrasound wand. Carefully he pressed it to her stomach and tilted it in different angles. Finally, he found it. A baby perfectly formed but still so small. He zoomed in and a smile grew on the doctor's face as he saw the fluttering of the heart on the ultrasound. He pressed a few buttons, allowing the sound of the galloping heartbeat to fill the room.

Emily let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. She closed her eyes and just listened.

"That's a wonderful sound," Alfred commented softly but loud enough that Emily heard, just as the doors to the room opened.

They all turned towards it to see Bruce, slightly out of breath standing at the door, looking more than a little haphazardly.

"Is everything all right?"

Alfred and Emily smiled as Bruce suddenly paused, taking a moment to realize what the sound was that filled the room.

"You're right on time, Mr. Wayne," Dr. Campbell said, from behind the computer. "We were just listening to your baby's heart beating."

Bruce walked over to Emily and looked over at the computer screen, watching as the blown up image of a fetus moved.

"Everything looks great," Dr. Campbell told them as he continued to get measurements and turn the wand to different angles to get various shots. "And I don't see any indication of trauma or bleeding."

He stopped and turned off the machine.

"I'll send the information to Dr. Thompkins for you but from what I saw, the baby appears to be fine. I'd suggest that you take it easy for the next few days anyways. In the very least, you may end up with a nasty headache, sore back and those cuts and stitches in your arm will need to heal."

Dr. Campbell pushed the machine back towards the wall before he left the room, leaving Alfred, Bruce and Emily alone. Emily sat up as Bruce quickly wrapped his arms around her and briefly kissed her lips. She held onto him as Alfred told Bruce that he would bring the car around to the front of the building to pick them up. He heard the door close behind him, signaling to him that they were alone.

"I thought that I had lost you when the phone line died. I had no idea what had happened to you until I saw you with Gordon," Bruce said softly. "Did you see anyone suspicious inside of the clinic?"

Emily thought back and remembered the name, Kyle, as the one who had suddenly left the clinic just minutes prior to the explosion.

"I never saw what he looked like," Emily said. "The only ones who did were the other couple in the waiting room and Louise."

Bruce nodded and sighed.

"Unfortunately, that couple didn't make it and Louise isn't doing too good right now," Emily told him. "I heard that she was brought up to surgery soon after she arrived."

A gentle knock on the door caught their attention and with a request to the visitor to come in, Emily smiled. Janie walked in, a bandage wrapped around her wrist and a nice looking butterfly bandage on her chin. She looked from Bruce to Emily sitting on the bed. The woman pushed the door closed behind her before making her way over to Emily.

"Thank God you're all right," Janie said, hugging Emily. "I freaked out when one of Gordon's officers said that he was bringing you to the hospital. Of course, none of them knew what was going on. And then I had to sneak up here to see how you were since they closed down the floor to visitors."

Emily paused.

"What? Why?"

Janie looked from Emily to Bruce. "Em, you're on the OB floor, with a ring on your finger and Bruce Wayne at your side. I haven't said anything to anyone, but it looks like someone made a call. There's a small collection of media vultures in the lobby."

Emily ran her hand through her hair and looked up at Bruce, who pulled out his cell phone to get ahold of Alfred.

"So," Janie said, sitting beside Emily a smile building on her face. "Why didn't you say anything about being pregnant?"

"I honestly just found out."

The smile faded on Janie's face. "Everything is all right, right?"

Emily smiled. "Everything is fine."

Bruce turned to them and put his phone in his pocket. He sighed.

"Janie is right," he said. "Alfred says that the front lobby is full of people."

Janie shook her head. "I've worked here for a few months after it was built before going to the clinic. There are other ways out of here."

She pushed herself off the bed with Emily beside her. Janie turned to Bruce.

"Tell Alfred to go around the building to the service entrance B. There should be a few garbage bins and a pair of bay doors at that entrance."

Bruce and Emily followed Janie through the hospital, bypassing the lobby and causing more than a few stunned looks from hospital workers and staff to see Bruce Wayne and Emily Tucker walking past them. Janie brought them food services and they carefully walked around trays of food that were going to be heading out to the many patients in the hospital.

They excused themselves more than once as they weaved their way through.

"Hey, you're not allowed to be down here," an older man suddenly said.

"We're just trying to get to the South Bay doors to get these two out of here," Janie explained as they continued their way.

"I'll have to call security because none of you are authorized to be in here!"

"Hey man, that's Bruce Wayne and Dr. Tucker," a woman called out, walking into the room. "There's a crowd out front waiting for them. Let 'em get out the back."

The man shrugged and waved them past. "Fine. Get out of here!"

"Thank you," Bruce told him as they made their way to the back door. Janie pushed it open and saw the large bay doors in the receiving area and heard the loud echo as Bruce closed the door behind them.

One of the doors were open and Emily could see the familiar Jaguar sitting below the delivery door. She watched as Alfred stepped out of the car.

"This was a far better idea than the front entrance," he commented as Emily and Bruce climbed down. Emily looked up at Janie.

"Aren't you coming? We could give you a ride back to your car."

Janie shook her head. "You get out of here while you can. I'm going to check up on Louise and see if there's any news."

Emily nodded. "Let me know if you hear anything."

"I will."

Emily turned and followed Bruce to the car. Alfred backed out and got onto a side street. No one, besides the few people in the food services even knew they had left.

* * *

Bruce watched as Emily laid on the couch in the den. Alfred had covered her up nearly an hour ago after she had fallen asleep listening to the news regarding the explosion. He had turned off the television during a broadcast of the morning news showing a photo of Emily and Bruce as the reporters spoke about an engagement and possible pregnancy. The words the reporters said, tore at his heart as he looked down at the sleeping woman on the couch. The nasty speculation and conclusions regarding the relationship of Bruce and Emily were horrid.

He walked out of the room and saw Bruce walking towards him, knowing he had just gotten off the phone with Lucius and had heard part of the conversation.

"What are you going to tell her?"

Bruce shrugged.

"I have to tell her the truth, Alfred."

"She'll be crushed, sir. She put so much of her time and energy into this. To suddenly take it away from her when everything around her seems to be falling apart isn't fair."

"I know that, but the board isn't giving me any other options."

"They're cancelling the benefit." Emily suddenly said, upon hearing the conversation between Bruce and Alfred. She stood at the door to the den. "The board has decided to cancel it, haven't they?"

Bruce sighed. "Emily, there's nothing I can do about it. Even if I was to get support in favour of going ahead with it, there is too much opposition. It would be voted down regardless."

Emily turned on her heel and marched towards the front door. Bruce saw a look in her eye and quickly followed.

"Emily, it's no use in changing their minds."

She stopped and quickly turned, her face red in anger.

"I worked my damn ass off on this project and to have myself nearly hit by a car and then survive being in an explosion... I can't have this taken away from me now, Bruce. I will not let them take the one thing that I have left."

Bruce took her by the shoulders, wanting to shake some sense into the emotional woman. "You have me and we have our baby. You have more than you possibly know."

"That clinic was my life and that benefit and funding from Wayne Enterprises was its only lifeline. And it was the only possible solution to bringing it back," she explained, softly. "How would you feel if I told you that you could no longer be Batman? If I said, that regardless of how you feel or what goes on in the city, you can never go back to being Batman again, how would you like it?"

"I don't know," he replied softly.

"Exactly. Batman is who you are. The clinic is who I am. Helping people is like a drug for me. It's what I do." She paused. "And I'm going to change the boards mind."

Bruce watched as Emily slipped on her shoes and grabbed her purse.

"You wont be able to change their minds," he argued. "They've already voted."

His words didn't slow her down. Emily pulled open the door and jogged down the steps and made her way towards the garage, mentally picking out the fastest car.

"Damn it," Bruce cursed as he pulled on his shoes and raced after her. "If you want to get there fast, let me drive."

Within moments, the Lamborghini spun its wheels and kicked up stones as they made their way into Gotham.

* * *

"Emily, the board may be in their meeting still," Bruce told her as they climbed out of the Lamborghini.

They had caught many eyes by surprise as Bruce had pulled up in front of Wayne Tower. A few reporters had camped out front, hoping to get a statement but they underestimated how fast Emily and Bruce would make their way into the building.

The pair walked into the nearest elevator and rode it up to the executive floor.

"Do you even know what you're going to say if you get the chance to even speak to the board?"

Emily shrugged. "I'll come up with something."

"Just make sure that you aren't letting out your frustration on them," he countered, causing Emily to stop.

"Are you afraid that I might insult the board members?"

Bruce grinned.

"Just don't say anything you may regret later on."

They walked up to the secretary sitting at her desk.

"Hi Jessica, would Mr. Fox be available at the moment?"

"Oh, Mr. Wayne," she stated, sitting up straighter in her chair. She looked from Bruce to Emily. "He is here, but he is in a meeting with the board."

"Perfect," Emily said as she turned to make her way to the board room.

"But you can't just go in!" Jessica exclaimed from her desk as she watched Bruce quickly follow Emily.

Emily pushed open the door and immediately had the eyes of every board member, including Mr. Fox on her.

"Ah, Miss Tucker," he said, somewhat confused and then he saw Bruce standing behind her. "Mister Wayne. We're in the middle of a meeting right now."

Emily knew that it meant that she wasn't welcome at the meeting.

"I realize that Mister Fox. I wanted to speak with the board regarding the benefit for the clinic."

Lucius looked down at the paper in front of him and pulled off his glasses.

"I'm sorry, Miss Tucker, but I thought that Mister Wayne would have told you that the support from Wayne Enterprises has been terminated and the benefit has been cancelled."

"He told me, but I'd like the board to reconsider."

"Miss Tucker, in light of the recent circumstances, the board and I felt that to support the clinic wouldn't be profitable."

"Because the building was blown up?"

It was obvious to everyone in the board room that Emily had been involved in the explosion. Her newly stitched forehead and wrapped up arm proved that.

Lucius winced. "Yeah, that was part of it but also because of the unknown location of Dr. Dravis and his possible criminal connection. We don't want to be a part of that, as you could understand. We had delayed the benefit numerous times in hopes that things would change and unfortunately, they haven't."

"But what about the people who come to the clinic?"

"It's unfortunate but they'll need to search for alternate locations to get their medical services."

"Services that they'll undoubtedly be unable to pay for and in turn, they wont even bother to seek out medical assistance when some of them depend on it."

Lucius sighed. "Again, I'm sorry Miss Tucker."

Emily felt Bruce's hand on her back. He knew as much as she did that she wouldn't be able to change their minds. She was about to turn to leave but decided to say something more.

"I'm pregnant," she said aloud with a smile as she put her hand to her stomach to emphasize that fact. "I'm not certain if anyone knew, but Bruce and I are planning on getting married and I'm nearly three months pregnant."

The news caught the surprise of more than a few board members as well as Lucius as a smile crept onto his face.

"Well, congratulations. That is certainly wonderful news to hear that the Wayne family is growing once again."

"I find it strange that if I wasn't in the certain social class that I am in and if this baby wasn't a direct heir of Bruce Wayne that I may be just like one of those many who would be searching for low cost medical care," she explained. "I doubt that any of you would like to see your wives, husbands or possibly your children go without medical care all because they cannot afford it. Not everyone in Gotham was born a Wayne. Proper medical care should be available to anyone who needs it."

Emily paused, wondering if she was making an impact with anything that she was saying or if it was just going in one ear and out the other.

"So, you may think that the benefit was merely for the clinic, but the clinic isn't a building. The doctors, nurses and staff that work there are different. They don't look at patients as a number or someone to line our pockets. We genuinely care for the safety and health of everyone that comes into the building. I would pitch a tent in the open lot where the clinic once stood and take patients there if I could. The fact remains that these people have nowhere to go and have once again been turned away by society. If no one stands up for them, what will they do?"

She looked at the board members, seeing how most of them weren't even looking at her and instead were writing on sheets of paper in front of them.

Emily sighed, looking down at the ground. "I've taken up enough of your time."

She turned and walked past Bruce and out into the hallway. Bruce turned to follow but instead was stopped by Lucius.

"Hold up, Bruce," Lucius said. "Have a seat for a moment."

Bruce closed the door.

* * *

Emily stood in the hallway, and looked out the window at the traffic below them. She crossed her arms and listened unconsciously as Jessica answered phone calls and spoke softly on the phone.

She turned her head towards the board room when she heard the door open and the members of the board begin to walk out. More than a few were mingling with each other as they walked down the hallway. A few regarded her and smiled as they went past. Finally, she saw Bruce and Lucius walk out, shaking hands with a few other board members. Emily could hear a few congratulations being offered to him before the board members walked away.

Lucius walked up to her, a smile on his face. He held out a hand towards her.

"I'm pleased to hear that you'll soon be Mrs. Wayne and you and Bruce are expectant parents as well," Lucius said, shaking her hand. "Congratulations." Lucius leaned in. "And if this one is anything like Bruce was as a boy, it'll keep you on your toes."

Lucius chuckled as Emily smiled. "Thank you."

Lucius walked away to his office as Bruce walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. Emily was caught off guard as they were in plain sight of Lucius' secretary.

"Bruce, what are you doing?" she asked, seeing the coy grin on his face.

"Letting you know how much I love you and how amazing you are."

Bruce leaned in and whispered in her ear. "The board changed their mind and the benefit is going on as scheduled."

Emily nearly shrieked as she put her hands on either side of Bruce's face and kissed him.

"You did it," Bruce told her happily, brushing her hair from her eyes as they danced with excitement. "You convinced them to change their mind. Wayne Enterprises is planning on supporting the reconstruction of the clinic, provided that you are the director. And there was even talk of possibly having you come onto the board once you're officially my wife as a consultant from the medical field."

"Really?"

Bruce nodded. "You impressed them."

Bruce put his arm around Emily as they walked back towards the elevator.

"I guess I'll have to go shopping before the weekend," she said, as they stepped into the open elevator.

"I thought you already had something to wear for the benefit that you bought weeks ago."

Emily winced. "Yeah, I'm guessing that it wont be fitting me so well anymore."

Bruce smiled, leaned over and pressed the buttons for the ground level on the elevator. Once the doors closed, he took her hand.

"It looks like I'm going to be needing that date for Saturday night after all," he teased. "Know of anyone who's available?"

Emily smirked.

"I know of more than a few people who would be willing to be accompanied by Bruce Wayne but unfortunately I'd have to hurt you if you went with any of them."

Bruce chuckled as he pulled her close to him. "Remind me never to argue with a pregnant woman."

Emily laughed as the doors opened to the lobby.

* * *

Jonathan Crane looked across the road at the building which he used to call his home. Not his second home, but his home. Although it was never written in stone, he always considered Arkham Asylum to belong to him. She knew his secrets as much as she knew hers. He also knew that he did have some loyalties remaining within the building.

He watched as a man walked through the gates and crossed the street to where he stood. The man sighed nervously and handed him an envelope. Crane ripped open the envelope and slid the file out into his hand.

"You sure you want him? He's not your run-of-the-mill psych patient. He's a hardened criminal with a history of homicide and arson. You know what he did to this city."

Dr. Crane smiled as he looked up from the file. "And that's why I need him."

The man nodded. "Shift change happens in a half hour. I'll ensure that he'll know what to do."

Crane reached into his pocket and handed the man a stack of bills. "You'll get the second half once he's out."

The man shoved the money into his pant pocket and turned, walking back towards the large gate.

Crane looked up at the building and smiled.


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you for the review and favourite alerts. I've had this part done for a while but I'm only getting the chance to post it now. I have the next part nearly complete and I hope to have it out in the next few days.**

* * *

With her hands full, Emily carefully picked up the hem of her dress as she walked down the stairs in her bare feet. In one hand she carried her heels and a matching clutch and the other held onto a pair of earrings that she was in the process of putting on. She looked at the clock on the wall as she made her way towards the piano along the bookshelf. She pressed the three chord progression on the piano and heard the click of the secret passageway unlock for her. Emily put her heels and clutch on the grand piano before walking through the passageway and into the steel cage to lower herself down to the cave floor.

In the distance, she could hear the voices of Bruce and Alfred speaking to each other, but she was still too far to decipher what was being said. As she rounded a corner, she could see Bruce sitting at a desk with Alfred right behind him, a suit jacket drapped over his arm.

Bruce turned to speak to Alfred directly when he saw her. Alfred noticed Bruce's attention drift away from him and he turned as well.

"Miss Emily," Alfred said, walking towards her. "It's far too cool to be down here dressed as you are."

He took Bruce's coat from his arm and wrapped it around her bare shoulders.

"I thought you both would be down here," Emily said with a smile, before looking over at Bruce. "We need to go in fifteen minutes if we're going to make it on time."

Bruce stood up and walked over to her. She noticed that he was nearly dressed, but not appearing ready to leave. He had a black tie drapped around his neck over his starch white dress shirt. Emily saw the silver cufflinks and tie clip resting on the table.

"You look beautiful," he said, a smile on his face before she leaned in and gently kissed his lips. He noticed the two stitches partially hidden by her hair line.

"Thank you," she replied, with a grin. "I just wish that when I picked this dress out, that I would have had considered something with a bit more breathing room."

He looked at her in the long, strapless wine coloured dress. It did fit a little more tighter around her midsection; the site of her discomfort and the evidence that life was growing inside of her. The dress tapered down from her hips to the floor. Bruce smiled.

"I think you look perfect," he told her before grabbing a box from his desk. "And, I thought that you may be able to use these."

Bruce handed her the box. Emily opened the box revealing a beautiful, single pearl necklace to match the earrings that he had given her earlier.

"They're beautiful, Bruce," she said in awe, as he took the necklace from the box and she turned around, realizing that he was wanting to put it on her. She lifted her brown hair off her neck.

"I had Lucius add a little something special to them," he said, as he did up the clasp. "You'll be able to talk to me anytime and I'll be able to hear you as much as you can hear me."

Emily turned, dropping her hair back over her shoulder and then gently placed her hand over the necklace.

"It's a microphone," she concluded as he nodded, reaching for his cufflinks.

"And your earrings hold the transmitter." He reached over to his desk and picked up a small plastic container. "And these are the receivers. You place them just inside your ear and no one would ever tell they're there."

He watched as she opened the container and pulled one of them out. Bruce sighed.

"I really wish that you'd consider staying home tonight," Bruce added.

It wasn't just Crane that had his attention now. After being told by the Commissioner himself that Joker had disappeared from his cell at Arkham a few night prior, Batman had been busy every night trying to track him down. The media hadn't been informed of the escape in fear of a mass hysteria given the destruction and chaos the man had caused the last time he was running amok through the city. Only a handful of people within Gotham had known of the escape, and Emily wasn't one of them. Bruce had made sure of that.

Emily turned and sighed.

"I'm not going to hide and turn Wayne Manor into my own personal safe house. I took your suggestions and I've been hiding out here for 4 days now and nothing has happened. If Crane really wanted to come after me for some unknown purpose, he'd know exactly where I'd be and the front gates wouldn't stop him."

"But at least here, you're not out in the open."

"And you wouldn't have to worry about protecting me," Emily concluded. "Bruce, don't worry. If needed, I'm sure that I'd be able to take care of myself tonight."

He watched her. Something seemed off. She seemed awkward. He gently wrapped his arms around her in an embrace and brought his hands down her back and then to her hips before he felt it on her thigh. It was so discreet that he wouldn't have noticed unless he touched her there.

She could see it in his eyes. He had found the small revolver attached to her upper leg.

"Emily..."

She tried to avoid rolling her eyes as she cut him off.

"Bruce, I know how you feel about guns, and I completely agree with you. You taught me a lot but it freaks me out to think that I'm not only looking after myself anymore."

He watched as her right hand rested on her stomach. He reached forward and put his hand over hers.

"I know how you feel."

Emily glanced down and entwined her fingers between his own.

"Commissioner Gordon is upping the security tonight," Emily reminded him.

Bruce smiled weakly.

"Unfortunately, that doesn't mean much in this city. So, I'm going to need you to listen to every word that I tell you."

Bruce looked past her as Alfred seemed to reappear and caught Bruce's eye.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I believe everything is in order for you, sir."

Bruce nodded his thanks and turned towards his desk.

She watched as he began to adjust his tie as Alfred passed him the cufflinks. Emily looked past Bruce towards the computer monitors and saw an image which she never hoped to see again. A spread of articles on the Joker filled the monitor and although she couldn't see the wording on the screen, just looking at the scarred face brought back a wave of emotion and memories. They turned her stomach.

Bruce seemed to see her look past him before quickly turning her attention back to him before pulling his suit coat from her shoulders and handing it to him.

"Ready to go?" he asked, pulling on his coat.

With a slightly forced smile, she nodded.

* * *

Bruce glanced over at Emily as she sat beside him in the backseat of the Bently as Alfred drove them across town to the Gotham Grande Hotel. Her eyes were on the cards in her hand and he heard her sigh as she looked up briefly to check on how much further they had to go. It was obvious to him that Emily was nervous about giving the speech requested by Wayne Enterprises but he knew that she would never admit it. He watched as her mouth moved as she recited the words in her mind and he noticed her knee bouncing lightly. Public speaking horrified her.

He reached over and gently put his hand on her knee, instantly ceasing the movement. She looked over at him.

"If you'd like, I can go up with you when it's time for your speech," he suggested.

She shook her head and scoffed. "I can do this Bruce. I don't need someone to hold my hand."

Bruce sat back in his seat and smiled, noticing that they were approaching the hotel and a myriad of lights.

"My offer still stands if you change your mind."

Emily looked towards the hotel and felt her heart drop as she realized the throng of media that had gathered around the large entrance. She half-listened to Alfred's comment about parking in the garage and waiting for them at penthouse level but past that, she couldn't hear much more over the thumping of her heartbeat.

As the car pulled up in front of the entrance, she could already feel the intense scrutiny before she even stepped a foot onto the pavement.

She glanced beside her as Bruce suddenly disappeared from his seat and the sound of people calling his name flooded into the car.

"Enjoy yourself this evening," Alfred called over his shoulder as Emily's door was opened wide.

She smiled at Alfred before taking the offered hand of the hotel's staff member and she stepped out of the Bently. Her name was called out towards her as Bruce quickly took her hand and walked with her towards the hotel doors.

"Bruce! Emily! A picture please!" someone called out.

After walking a few more feet and hearing the request over and over, Bruce squeezed her hand as they stopped and turned, allowing for the photographers to get the photo they were asking for. Emily put her arm around Bruce's back as the flashes of light didn't seem to end and neither did the questions.

"When are you due?"

"What exactly were your injuries in the involvement of the clinic explosion?"

"Any wedding plans yet?"

"Is Bruce Wayne the father of your baby?"

Bruce chuckled at the statement and looked at Emily, waiting for her to respond.

She was still so new to the public eye that she wasn't certain what to answer or even how to answer as it was most likely that her words would be printed or quoted some place before the end of the night. She knew that she didn't want everyone to know exact dates.

"Our baby should be here by the end of the year and no, no wedding plans as of yet," she replied aloud. She glanced down at her wrapped arm. "And I'm feeling fine, thank you."

Again, the questions volleyed back at them. Everything from asking about whether Emily was experiencing morning sickness to asking if they'll want to know the sex before the baby is born was tossed at them. It was almost dizzying when the words began to mesh into each other and nothing made sense. Emily was thankful when Bruce spoke up, silencing the media.

"We're just enjoying this time knowing where our child is and that he or she is entirely ours for this short time in its life."

Bruce took Emily's hand and together they walked into the hotel past a line of police officers and towards the hall. Waiters carrying trays filled with flutes of champagne walked around the room as the live band played a soft jazz song from the corner of the hall. Women in beautiful gowns with glittery jewels walked around the room, as though they were trying to show each other up. Most of the older men stood among each other, sipping on champagne and eyeing the younger, figuresgque ladies.

Many people greeted them as they passed by. Emily had no idea who most of them were. Bruce would introduce her, and she was quite aware of the stares that she was getting. Most of the people would smile at her through their teeth, only speaking to her because of her association to Bruce. She wondered if they were even aware that they were doing it.

As Bruce would speak to these people, she searched the room for someone, anyone that she knew. Although she saw many people she recognized from the newspaper and television, she didn't see anyone she knew until her eyes drifted towards the long table of food. Her smile broadened and Bruce noticed, following her gaze.

Michael shoved a piece of sushi into his mouth and waved at Emily.

As the people Bruce was speaking to walked away, Emily turned to him.

"You got them to allow Michael to come?!" she asked happily, looking from the man with food in his hand to the billionaire in front of her. "When were you going to tell me?"

Bruce shrugged and smiled coyly. "I had to pull a few strings but I knew that it was important to you to have people that you know be here so I had the board make an exception."

Emily suddenly reached up for Bruce's face and kissed his lips and said a quick 'I love you' before happily making her way over to Michael. She excused herself more than once and was on the receiving end of a grouchy woman's scoff as she passed by.

Bruce watched as Emily unabashedly wrapped her arms around Michael's neck as he laughed aloud.

"So, you're knocked up and you're getting married?!" Michael exclaimed, aloud catching the attention of more than a few irritated guests.

Emily ignored them.

"Shocked?"

Michael took her hand and walked away from the crowds of people before turning to her.

"Shocked that it took a rich playboy to break through your icy cold exterior or that you're actually going to marry Bruce Wayne; the man that you despised for years? Not to mention that you're having his baby!"

She smiled coyly at him. "Don't tell me that you're not jealous."

He smirked. "Who wouldn't be? So, you can just imagine my surprise when Mr. Wayne himself gives me a call and invites me to this thing as his guest."

Michael grabbed a cracker from the table and shoved it into his mouth.

"He also said that you're making a speech tonight," Michael added to which Emily nodded. "Then I'll be right in the front row. We wouldn't want you to be looking at all these sour faces while you're freaking out over speaking in front of them."

Emily chuckled when she saw Janie suddenly approach her, and quickly embracing her.

"I'm so glad to find a familiar face," she said. "Louise was really wanting to come tonight, but her doctor suggested that it may be too much for her yet. I told her that she wasn't missing out on much."

Emily smiled, while Janie took a sip from her glass.

_"Good evening Mister Mayor."_

Emily suddenly turned hearing Bruce's voice in her ear and realized for the first time that the microphones were working and he probably just heard her conversation with Michael.

_"Mister Wayne. Good to see you. I heard that you're getting married to one of the doctors of that clinic that this benefit is for. Now, where is your bride-to-be?"_

_"She's around here somewhere."_

Finally, she saw Bruce standing half way across the hall talking to Mayor Garcia. Emily smiled when she caught their eye.

_"Well, I wish you both the best_," she heard the Mayor say. _"Oh and Bruce, take care of that golf swing of yours. The annual charity golf tournament is later this summer."_

_"I wouldn't miss it."_

"Em! Emily!"

She suddenly turned back to Michael in front of her.

"Are you all right? You seemed a bit out of it for a moment."

Emily shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine. I was just in deep thought."

"No kidding," Janie stated, putting down her partially full champagne flute on a passing waiters tray as the music from the band picked up a bit. Michael put out his hand to her.

"Wanna dance?"

Janie let out a mock laugh. "No thanks. I don't dance."

Michael turned to Emily who merely scoffed. "With you? I've danced with you before and from what I recall, it wasn't pleasant."

"For you or for me? I remember my feet being sore afterwards from the many times that you stepped on them."

She shrugged. "I warned you that I couldn't dance. I'm the worst coordinated person when it comes to dancing and this is the last place that I want my lack of skill to be revealed."

Michael reached forward and took her hand, before walking with her towards the dance floor. Janie encouraged him, nodding with her approval.

"Michael, no!" she said softly, pulling at his hand.

He stopped and let go of her hand as he walked over to the band leader to whisper something into his ear. She watched as the leader nodded and then began to conclude the current song that was being played.

Emily crossed her arms as Michael walked over to her.

"Em, I'm your friend," he said, softly to her. "I wouldn't let you make an ass out of yourself especially in front of these vultures."

As the music started up again, he put his arm around her and took her hand. Emily let out a sigh as she put her hand on his shoulder.

* * *

Bruce took a sip from the champagne glass in his hand as he half-listened to the business man ranting about his most current financial conquest. He stood around with another four men and when one began to laugh, Bruce simply smiled and chuckled as he pretended to take another sip. He glanced over towards Emily when he suddenly no longer heard her speaking.

Oddly, she was. He could see her mouth moving as she danced with Michael.

Bruce gently touched his tie clip, tapping it to see if she made any inclination that she heard it.

Nothing.

With a smile, he put down his glass and glanced down at one of his cufflinks, gently spinning it to ensure that the receiver was working properly.

"Damn it," the business man suddenly said, looking at his smart phone. "I'm not getting any reception in this place."

He nudged Bruce and took another drunken swig from his glass.

"You'd think that if you're going to buy a hotel, Wayne, you'd at least make sure that you get decent reception in the place," he commented, walking towards the entrance with his phone in his hand.

Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He wasn't getting any reception either when he was certain that he was just moment prior. Bruce glanced back at Emily before stepping out of the hall.

* * *

"Just follow my lead and don't worry about my feet," he said. "I don't have much feeling in them anymore since the last time I danced with you."

Emily scoffed and playfully swatted Michael on the shoulder.

As they danced, Emily tried to find Bruce within the crowd. She hadn't heard much in her ear of his voice and was beginning to wonder if the receiver wasn't working or if Bruce had disappeared.

She winced when she realized that she stepped on Michael's foot and gave him a soft apology to which he simply shrugged.

More than a few couples quickly filled the floor around them but the feeling of being centred out, didn't disappear. She could feel their gossiping eyes on her as they scrutinized not only her, but also the mysterious man she was dancing with.

When she stopped moving, the room didn't. Rather than letting go of Michael's hand, she held onto it, tightly.

"Em, are you all right?"

She let out a deep breath, feeling her head get light and her face flush. "I need to sit down."

Nodding, he led her through the crowd towards an empty table and pulled out a chair allowing her to sit.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Michael asked, genuinely concerned.

Emily ran her hand over her face and shook her head. "Maybe something small to eat."

He nodded and looked towards the food. "I'll see if I can find Bruce too. Will you be all right here for a minute?"

She nodded and smiled, as Michael walked away from her towards the food table.

"Bruce, where are you?" she whispered, but again, she heard nothing. The radio silence was beginning to make her nervous and was only aggravating her anxiety.

As the band ended their next song, Emily had managed to eat a cookie with Michael at her side. It wasn't until she noticed Lucius Fox walking up to the podium that she felt sick to her stomach.

"Damn it," she cursed softly, as she reached for her clutch and pulled out the small handful of cards.

"On behalf of Wayne Enterprises, I'd like to welcome you all here this evening. We're here to support a cause that gets little recognition within our city, but is very needed; the medical services for those that require it but are unable to afford it."

As Lucius spoke, Emily looked down at the cards and felt her heart race. It wasn't until she heard her name being announced followed by a chorus of clapping that she stood up. Michael stood up beside her and graciously offered his arm to which, she took as they walked up the podium. She let go of his arm as she climbed the two steps and met Lucius' smile at the microphone.

Emily turned towards the crowd and smiled down at Michael, who stood by the platform.

"I'd like to thank Mr. Fox and Wayne Enterprises for this opportunity to get the support and funding that our clinic requires. As you all should know, the clinic was destroyed a few nights ago, but plans are already underway for reconstruction. The people of Gotham depend on this service and I'm proud to be able to give it to them."

Emily paused and quickly scanned the crowd, still not seeing Bruce anywhere. She knew it wasn't a time that he'd disappear without telling her and she couldn't help but be concerned. She looked back down at her cards, knowing that she needed to focus on the words.

"W...Without the support from the people of this city, we wouldn't be able to operate. It's people like you that give the chance for those less fortunate to receive quality medical care without financial discrimination. We will continue to endeavour to..."

Emily's words were cut off when a side door suddenly blew in behind an explosion that sent dust and debris into the room. People screamed. Emily quickly ducked down as Lucius reached forward to ensure she stayed low. A volley of gunfire popped into the air as police officers stormed into the room yelling at the guests to get down. Not too many heeded that warning as they pushed to get out of the building but quickly found that the officers weren't letting them pass.

"What the hell is going on here?" Gordon cried out, seeing some officers standing by the blown door as a man walked through it.

"Good evening, Commissioner."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N - Sorry for the huge delay. It was much longer than I anticipated. I intended to post this right after Christmas, but alas...seasonal flu hit our family...and everyone except for one of us. I was in bed for 3 days and even spent New Years Eve snuggled under a pile of blankets with a 102 F fever and a cough that hurt my ribs. Happy New Year to me. Blah! But now that I'm over that, I've got myself a nice sinus infection. I just can't get ahead! It is a new year and I'm putting that all behind me. So, if this chapter seems a little 'off', we can blame the flu and sinus infection. :)**

* * *

That voice.

It was the voice that once plagued her nightmares. It was the same one that caused her to sleep with the lights on for months on end. Memories of being kidnapped from the hospital with her colleagues before being bound and gaged with duct tape flooded her mind as her stomach flipped and her heart began to pound. She could almost hear the sounds of choppers whirling around the building, the smell of the duct taped wrapped tightly over her mouth and the cold metal of the gun tapped firmly within her grasp. Everything felt so real.

The feeling of a gentle hand resting on her shoulder nearly caused her to jump and let out a gasp. She turned and saw Lucius' face, silently urging her to follow his lead off of the platform and back into the crowd of people.

Fox could see the panic on her face. The way that she stiffened and froze in fear the moment that Joker spoke. Even as the grotestqued faced man stalked further into the crowd, she stood nervously beside him.

"Don't stop the party just for me," Joker said aloud, as he sauntered up towards Commissioner Gordon.

Two of Jokers' men rushed towards him and grabbed ahold of Gordon, one on either side of him.

"What do you want?" Gordon spat, as Joker licked his lips, glancing around.

"You know what I want," Joker replied. "But he isn't here, at least not yet. And I'm sure that you know where I could find him."

"Who?"

Joker clenched his jaw, pulling a knife from his pocket before reaching forward and taking Gordon's head, placing the knife along his jaw.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about," Joker stated. "You and...uh, the Batman must have an unusual working relationship. I'm sure that you know where he is." Joker paused and leaned forward, lowering his voice. "You probably even know who he is."

Joker smiled as he pulled the knife away from Gordon and turned around, scanning the crowd.

"Unless he's already here," Joker added, as he walked through the crowd. He paused when he stood in front of the mayor.

"I'm sure the Mayor of this city must know where the Batman is," Joker said, as Garcia shook his head.

"If you think that we're going to sit back and let you toy with the city again, then you..."

To the utter shock and horror to Garcia and everyone in the room, Joker shoved his knife into Garcia's chest without any warning and twisted it. Women screamed. Men gasped as Garcia opened and closed his mouth to speak, but no words would come out. No one knew what to do either than to just look on in horror.

"Then I what, Mr. Mayor?" Joker mocked, with a shrug, before pulling the knife back.

Garcia fell to the floor in a slump and although he was still alive, the Mayor was loosing a lot of blood, and quickly.

"No one knows where the Batman is!" Gordon shouted from where he stood, with two of Joker's thugs by his side.

Emily watched as Joker walked back towards Gordon. She could feel the small weight of the gun on her hip but already felt the heaviness of guilt as she knew that she should have pulled it out already. Her hands continued to shake nervously as she felt for the slit in her dress and carefully reached beneath it when a hand suddenly covered hers and a cold metal feeling touched her neck.

She froze as the hand pulled the small revolver from her hip.

"Oh, someone knows," Joker said, once again grabbing Gordon by the neck. "And I'll just have to start killing more people until someone speaks up."

The man behind her urged her to walk forward until Joker noticed the break in the crowd. He scowled when he found himself being interrupted. The man held up the gun and tossed it to Joker's waiting hand when he gestured for him to give it to him.

The cold steel never left her neck as she came face to face with the source of her nightmares. A smile seemed to appear on his scarred face as he touched the weapon in his hand before glancing up at Emily.

"Now, why would someone as beautiful as yourself be carrying this, hm?"

Emily swallowed as his hand reached forward. But before he even had the chance to touch her face, she heard the man behind her yell as the gun fell from his hand. She suddenly saw Joker being physically pulled in the opposite direction before he fell to the floor.

Batman.

With a sudden surge of adrenaline, Emily quickly turned around and hit the man behind her in the face. Emily reached forward and grabbed his head before connecting it with her knee. The man stumbled slightly. Emily swung her fist at the man, hitting him square in the jaw before he fell back.

Emily turned back to see what was going on behind her and saw Batman in the midst of a battle between Joker and his thugs. The attacks were relentless but Batman never stopped.

Emily saw Mayor Garcia laying on the floor within a large pool of blood, but instead of going right towards him like she intended, she felt a hand pull her back towards the exit where a crowd was clamouring to flee.

"There's nothing you can do for him," Lucius told her, his hand grasping firmly to her arm. "The best thing for you to do right now for everyone here is to get out of here."

She knew very well to whom 'everyone' applied to when Lucius said it.

Together they rushed out of the building just as SWAT was pulling up to the building. Emily could hear the Commissioner calling out orders as more and more people were exiting the building.

"I want the entire building cleared!" Gordon exclaimed. "Joker is not getting out of here."

Emily looked ahead and noticed Alfred standing on the opposite side of the street. Carefully, they weaved between the SWAT van and police cruisers until they made their way to Alfred.

"You're all right?" he asked, visibly relieved to see Emily in front of him. She nodded as he quickly wrapped his overcoat around her bare shoulders.

Emily turned back towards the high rise building behind them. Lights and sirens filled the streets as armed men began to file into the hotel.

"Did either of you see Master Wayne?" Alfred asked, keenly aware of the crowds that grew around them and the words he chose.

"I believe he stepped out just prior to the speeches," Lucius replied. "My guess is that he was exited out another way from the building."

Emily listened as Lucius spoke but kept her eyes on the building. It wasn't until she felt Alfred's hands on her shoulders that she turned.

"I'm going to bring you back home," he suggested as Lucius nodded.

"Good idea," Lucius stated. "If I happen to see Mister Wayne, I'll inform him."

As much as Emily wanted to insist on staying, she realized that she should leave. She convinced herself as best as she could that Bruce would be all right as her and Alfred walked away from the building.

* * *

Emily barely spoke a word as she rode in the backseat of the Bentley. Alfred glanced up at the rearview mirror and saw a woman that he would have barely recognized. She no longer appeared to be the strong, determined woman that he had come to know. She seemed distraught and distracted. His concern increased when he had to ask her twice whether she was warm enough.

"Emily?"

Finally, she looked up in surprise.

"I'm sorry, Alfred," she said. "I didn't hear what you were saying."

Her voice sounded weak.

Once the car pulled up to a red light, the older man turned in his seat.

"Master Bruce will be fine," he told her.

A small smile appeared on her face. "I know."

"Then what is wrong?"

"I'm fine, Alfred," she replied, keeping the smile on her face.

Alfred wasn't convinced but he wasn't about to begin badgering the woman when she clearly wasn't interested in a conversation. He turned back around as the light turned green and the Bentley began moving again and moved onto the freeway towards the Palisades.

"I'll put on a pot of tea and fix a warm bath for you when we get home," he told her, looking back at her through the mirror.

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes and he could finally see a hint of a true smile in them.

"That sounds great," she admitted.

"I finally went to the market and picked up that tea that you once told me about," Alfred told her. "Needless to say, I came back with more than just a little."

Emily smiled and even chuckled slightly.

"I knew that you'd like it."

"I'll fix you up one of the new ones that the owner suggested," Alfred said.

Just as Alfred finished speaking, the car suddenly jolted forward with a loud crunch.

"What was that?!" Emily exclaimed, looking out the rear window and only seeing a pair of blinding headlights. Once again, the lights disappeared from view as the car behind them accelerated and bumped them again.

"Bloody hell!" Alfred cursed, as he swerved around a slower moving car in hopes that they could get away from the driver behind them.

"They're still following!"

* * *

Batman stood up straight after the last of Joker's henchmen fell to the floor and Gordon rushed in, holding his gun alongside a group of SWAT. They spilled into the room as EMT's rushed up to the lifeless body of the Mayor. Gordon lowered his gun as one of the EMT's looked up over his shoulder towards him and shook his head.

"Damn it," Gordon cursed as he noticed Batman near the blown out door. Slowly, he walked towards him.

"The Joker's gone," Batman simply said.

"I had a bunch of my officers here and he still managed to get in. Hopefully we get some decent answers from these guys," Gordon stated, glancing back at the ruined party hall which was full of guests just minutes prior. His eyes fell on the EMT's as they covered Garcia's body with a tarp.

Neither one say a word.

Batman turned and looked at the service door that had been blown off its hinges when he suddenly heard her voice again.

He put his hand to his ear, fighting to hear the words through the interference.

_"Drive faster!"_

_"I can't go any faster than this without hitting someone."_

Emily and Alfred.

Completely ignoring Gordon, Batman raised his arm and shot off his magnetic grappler gun into the air before it pulled him into the air. Once he reached the rooftop, he put his hand to his ear.

"Emily?"

* * *

"Hold on!"

Alfred fought to control the car as it was hit from the back and then from the side. Emily gasped as Alfred tried to keep the car from fish tailing whenever it hit the gravel edge.

_"Emily?"_

Emily froze when she heard his voice in her ear. "Bruce!"

Alfred quickly looked up in the mirror, catching her eyes.

"We're being followed and they're trying to run us off the road!"

_"Where are you?"_

Emily looked out the window as they continued down the road. She had no idea if they had passed the road to Wayne Manor or if it was still ahead.

"Uh...just off of highway 92 on Ridge road," she stammered.

"We're coming up to Foster's road," Alfred added aloud, realizing that Bruce could hear them.

Emily felt another bump, only this time it was harder. She held onto the door handle and onto the seat.

_"How many cars?"_

Emily looked over her shoulder at the lights behind her. "Just one, I think."

_"I'm on my way!"_

Emily suddenly looked forward again and screamed.

* * *

A scream.

It was the last thing that Batman heard before the audio disappeared once again. He raced towards the Tumbler and jumped in, instantly bringing the machine to life. The Tumbler tore down the street as Batman gripped the wheel tightly as he made his way to the location that Emily had told him.

Ridge road was usually only used by those who lived in the area and that was very few and at that time of night, it was barren.

His anger grew when the headlights of the tumbler revealed the familiar Bentley off to the side of the road and partially into the grassy ditch.

Batman was out of the Tumbler moments after it came to a complete stop. He raced towards the doors and pulled open the rear door. It was empty. Quickly, he pulled at the drivers side door and found it empty as well, except for the keys that were still in the ignition.

In anger, he slammed the doors shut before stalking back towards the Tumbler. He climbed in and pressed a few buttons as the doors completely closed. He waited.

"I wasn't expecting to hear from you tonight," Fox quipped once he answered the phone.

"Alfred and Emily are gone."

A pause.

"Oh..."

"I need your help. I need you to meet me at the bunker," Batman said as he started up the Tumbler.

"I'll get there as soon as I can."

Batman closed the connection and turned the Tumbler around on the narrow road before heading back into the city.

* * *

It was a rare moment when Lucius Fox would visit the bunker. Bruce attempted to keep as much of Batman away from Fox as he could but given the circumstances, he had no other options. He knew that Lucius would be able to help out in ways that he knew he couldn't.

Lucius leaned over the desk and pulled down his glasses to look at the computer screen. Batman, sans mask sat in the chair beside him, pulling up detailed information on the transmitter and receiver that Emily was wearing.

"I was able to speak with her for a short time before the audio dropped out," Bruce said as he stood up from the chair. He backed up as Lucius sat down. "I'd like to see if we can amplify the transmitter so that the computer can pin point where the signal would be coming from."

"You'd like to create a homing signal," he concluded.

"To the nearest meter, if possible."

Lucius winced at Bruce's last request.

"I'll see what I can do and let you know when I have coordinates."

He looked over his shoulder to see Bruce walking away, pulling his cowl back over his head.

"Where are you going?"

"Meeting with Gordon."

* * *

Alfred couldn't move.

He wasn't certain if it was the effects of the drugs that made his arms and legs feel so heavy or if he was actually being tied down. He turned his head to the side and willed his eyes to open in the dimmed room.

He laid on the damp floor of the small room and saw Emily laying on her side a few feet away from him, still dressed in the wine coloured dress and his overcoat.

Drowsily, he reached for her arm and nudged her slightly. When she didn't respond, he softly called her name and nudged her again.

He relaxed slightly when he heard her gasp and suddenly move. Alfred watched her roll over onto her back and touched her forehead as she winced.

"My head is pounding," she commented. Emily tried to focus on the room. "Where's Bruce?"

"He's not here," Alfred answered, as he sat up. He looked at her face, seeing the blood on her forehead. "You're bleeding."

She didn't appear to hear his comment or answer.

"Where's Bruce? We're going to be late for the party."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew they weren't right. She watched as Alfred sat up beside her. Emily ran her hand over her face, trying to make sense of what was going on as she sat up herself and looked down at her clothing. Her mind tried to figure out how she ended up wherever she was when she felt the necklace around her neck. She knew it was important but couldn't figure out why.

"I'm pregnant, right?" she asked aloud, running her hands over her stomach as though it was the first time she had realized it.

Alfred looked at her and nodded. He reached for her head and saw the dried blood against her forehead. He gently touched it.

"You must have hit your head against the window harder than I though," Alfred commented. "What do you remember?"

Emily ran her hand through her hair and thought.

"I remember the party," she began. "Joker was there. Batman. You and I in the car and then, nothing."

"The car went off the road, you hit your head against the window and then we were both shot with something; a sedative most likely," Alfred told her.

"That explains the headache," she stated. "Where are we?"

Alfred glanced up at the small window high above them, letting in the small amount of light. "Who knows."

He pushed up to stand and attempted to see if he could reach the window, only to find that it was out of his reach.

"Where the hell are we?"

* * *

Gordon waited on top of the MCU with the light of the signal shining high over the city. He waited. Tonight he found that he was waiting longer than usual. With an urgency as much as having the Joker on the loose once again in the city, he assumed that Batman would have been more prompt to arrive.

Finally, he turned as the sound of wind whipped in behind him.

"Joker's named his target you," Gordon stated. "This time we're going to have to be on guard..."

"Joker can wait," Batman said, interrupting Gordon. He pulled out a file and handed it to Gordon.

"Benjamin Thomas?"

"Benjamin Thomas is the security guard at Arkham who allowed the Joker out his cell," Batman said.

"I read the report. We have him on surveillance tape. He was found dead just a few blocks from Arkham."

Batman nodded. "A large amount of money was deposited into his account the day Joker escaped."

"He was paid off," Gordon concluded. "By whom?"

"Someone who was needing a distraction and by someone who is familiar with the inner workings of Arkham."

"Dr. Crane?

"Crane is planning something," Batman said.

"Crane's been quiet for the past few weeks. Right now, our biggest threat is Joker. He killed the mayor and we know what he's capable of. We need to take him down before he causes more problems!"

_"I have a location for you_," Lucius voice suddenly said in Batman's ear.

Batman turned from Gordon and put his hand to his ear.

"Send it to the tumbler."

He turned back to Gordon.

"Joker can wait," he restated before he jumped off the building, leaving Gordon alone with his frustration.

* * *

Emily tried the door once again, and once again, found it to be locked.

"I doubt that checking the handle every five minutes is going to change anything," Alfred commented.

She shrugged just as a loud shrill echoed into her ears. Emily winced and covered her ears with her hands as Alfred looked on in confusion.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked urgently, grabbing ahold of her arms as he watched her facial features contort in pain.

"The receivers!" she exclaimed as she pulled the small devices from within her ears.

Once she managed to get them both out, she let out a sigh of relief as the sound disappeared and looked down at the small devices in her palm.

Staring at them, they couldn't hear anything.

"It sounded like horrible distortion," Emily explained. "A loud white noise."

Alfred took them into his hand. "What if, Batman is using them to find us? He would have to increase the power which would most likely cause a loud disturbance for anyone within range of the signal."

"He's coming," Emily stated, a smile beginning to grace her face. "Let's get out of here."

And so, they came up with a plan. They had admitted to themselves that it wasn't a unique idea but all they needed was for the door to be opened.

Alfred knocked loudly on the locked door, calling out for help over and over.

"We need a doctor in here! This woman is pregnant and needs help! Please!"

When they finally heard a series of locks being unlatched from the opposite side of the door, Alfred glanced back at Emily and nodded as she quickly turned around, and proceeded to moan.

The door opened and a pair of armed men walked into the room. Alfred approached them, acting relieved. Instinctively, they raised their guns and aimed at Alfred, who put up his hands.

"Please, she needs help," Alfred said, gesturing towards Emily as she leaned against the wall near the corner of the room. "The accident must have done something to her because she's in a lot of pain."

The two men looked at each other, trying to gauge what to do. To emphasize her pain, Emily let out a low growl and held onto her stomach.

"My god, it hurts!"

It was obvious to Alfred that her cries were affecting one of the two men. He watched his face soften at seeing the pregnant woman in pain. The man slung the gun over his shoulder and approached Emily while the other kept his gun aimed at Alfred.

"I'll bring you to the Doctor," the man said softly, holding out his hand towards her. "I'll get you some help."

Emily glanced over her shoulder, appearing visibly distraught to the man. Finally, she nodded and turned, grabbing the man's hand and pulling him forward. The distraction was enough that Alfred managed to take the gun from the man in front of him, and swung it, hitting him in the head.

Alfred turned towards the sensitive thug and Emily just as she swung back and elbowed him in the face, dropping him to the floor.

She let out a sigh, and bent over to pull the gun from the man's shoulder. Emily shrugged when she saw Alfred watching her.

"Bruce taught me that one just last week," she said with a smug smile, before the tentatively went out into the hallway.

Emily closed the door behind her and attached the heavy padlock.

"Now, which way?" Alfred asked, looking in either direction of the metal corridor. Conduits lined the low ceiling. It was just as warm and damp there as it was in the room they were in.

The pair looked in either direction. Upon hearing a sound coming from one way, Alfred silently gestured to move away from it. He glanced back as they went down the hallway.

They picked the wrong way.

Emily nearly ran into a man, but caught him enough off guard that she used her own rifle and hit him in the chin before slamming the end of it into his stomach.

"Adam? Everything all right over there, man?" a voice echoed from behind them.

Emily looked at Alfred who turned just as man came up around the corner. Alfred swung the gun and hit the man over the head, causing him to stumble. Alfred turned and pushed Emily further down the hall.

"Go! Now!"

The pair rushed down the hallway, still with no clue on which direction they were heading.

"Hold it!" a man's voice called out from behind them.

Alfred suddenly froze as did Emily. The man yelled at them to turn around just as another pair of thugs appeared behind them, each grabbing the gun out of their hands.

"Let's go," the man said, pushing Alfred and Emily ahead.

They were led through a maze of hallways, metal staircases and through a small doorway until they felt a blast of fresh, sea air hit their faces.

A ship.

Emily looked out towards the railing and could see Gotham's skyline illuminated in the night sky. She was pushed forward alongside Alfred and noticed that there were armed men standing from every vantage point around them.

Words were being exchanged around them, but neither Emily nor Alfred could hear what was being said. It wasn't until she heard a familiar voice that her head turned slightly.

"But I'm doing everything you have asked me to. You gave me your word that you wouldn't hurt her."

It was Bill. He walked onto the deck beside Crane.

"She isn't hurt," Crane stated, matter-of-fact as he glanced over at Emily. "Not yet anyways. Although with the commotion they've caused on the ship, that could drastically change. Besides, I personally chose her as your final test subject for the toxin. The old guy just happened to be there at the same time."

Bill was shocked.

"This is Bruce Wayne's future wife," Bill stammered. "There are going to be cops looking for her."

"Doubtful," Crane shrugged as he spoke. "Gotham City Police force have their hands full this evening. No one will be coming for them or us. You're free to finish your testing before we release the toxin."

"I can't ethically use her as a test subject," Bill told him. "She's pregnant."

Crane smiled. "I don't think you can talk to me about ethics, Doctor. How many people have you drugged and killed now?"

Bill sighed, shakily. "I wont test it on her."

Crane shrugged and looked over at his men.

"Then I guess we no longer have any use for her," Crane said, gesturing to his men as they grabbed ahold of her and brought her near the railing.

Emily began to struggle violently against them as they proceeded to wrap rope and chain around her ankles.

"What are you doing?!" Alfred exclaimed. "This is not necessary."

"On the contrary," Crane called out. "If the doctor isn't going to perform the tests, than Dr. Tucker is no longer required for our services. And neither are you. You'll be next. It's unfortunate that you'll be unable to see a new Gotham arise tonight."

Bill began to shift nervously when he saw them bring over a heavy anchor and began to tie the other end of the rope to it.

"This is murder!" Alfred exclaimed as he continued to squirm. "Let her go!"

Emily felt her heart race as she saw the anchor being hoisted towards the edge of the boat.

"Wait," Bill said softly at first but then spoke again, saying it louder. "Wait! I'll do the tests. Just let her go."

Crane smiled smugly as he nodded to the men beside Emily as they began to untie her ankles from the chain.

The men pushed her back towards Alfred. Emily watched as Crane looked over at Alfred.

"Your turn."

Crane's men went towards Alfred.

"No!" Emily screamed, forcibly putting herself in their way, attempting to stop them.

A pair of thugs grabbed onto her arms, pulling her away as Alfred looked at her.

"Take care of yourself and the child, and Master Bruce," he said, softly yet Emily could hear him.

She watched helplessly as the thugs wrapped the chain around Alfred's legs. To her surprise, the man never struggled. He kept his eyes on hers. She could see tears in his eyes as he watched her. Emily felt helpless as the heavy anchor was dropped into the water followed by Alfred.

"Son of a bitch!" she cursed at Crane, as the tears began to pour down her face. "You sick bastard! I will kill you for this! You're dead!"

The pair of thugs grabbed onto Emily and pulled her back towards the doorway into the ship, yet she continued to curse and spat verbal threats at Crane.

"Do you hear me!? You're dead, Crane!"

Crane simply sighed as he glanced over the edge of the boat down at the rippling of the waves against the hull.

"Shoot anything that comes up to the surface," Crane said to his men.


	19. Chapter 19

Batman had never tested the underwater feature of the Tumbler. Fox had told him that it was possible for the vehicle to travel underwater and today was the day that he would finally test it. He only wished that it was under different circumstances. Using the Tumbler sonar and scanners, he maneuvered the large vehicle through the water until he was nearly below the large ship.

His heart sank when an image on the monitor flashed across the sonar of a fast moving object quickly descending to the bay floor. He grabbed a regulator from the seat beside him and stuck it to his belt before putting another one in his mouth. A moment later, he was shot out of the tumbler behind a lighted underwater motor. He aimed it towards the image on the sonar and was surprised when he saw Alfred struggling with ropes that were tied around his wrist and ankles. The man suddenly saw the light and continued to struggle to free himself as his air was quickly running out. Batman reached up to Alfred's face and placed the regulator over his face before proceeding to free him from the anchor.

Batman put an arm around Alfred's waist and together they rode back to the Tumbler.

* * *

The image of Alfred being pushed overboard and then disappearing beneath the surface wouldn't leave her mind anytime soon. She barely put up a fight when Crane's men began to tie her wrists and ankles to the sides of a cold, metal table. Emily finally allowed the tears to come to her eyes the moment she heard the door close.

"You should know that I didn't have any other choice," she heard Bill say from somewhere in the small lab.

"Then you're just as nuts as Crane is!" she spat angrily, as tears fell off her face and onto the table beneath her.

Bill pulled a chair over towards her head and sat down. She looked at him, seeing the drugged state that he appeared to be in.

"I'm not crazy," he told her softly. "I never wanted you to become involved, but unfortunately for me, Crane knows my weakness; you."

Emily turned her head away from him as she heard him let out a frustrated sigh.

"If you saw what this new drug does, you'd be amazed," Bill said, excitedly. "There's nothing else like it in the world. It shatters your inhibitions and creates a world in your mind where you are the ruler of your own destiny."

"And Crane is planning on drugging Gotham with it! Can you imagine what would happen if everyone in the city looses their inhibitions? The city would be destroyed. People would be killed and all because of this drug that you helped create!"

He scoffed as he stood up and walked towards his desk. Emily turned her head, angling so she could see.

"Crane has been manipulating you," she stated. "You've been drugged. This isn't like you."

"He's been helping with my Mom's medical bills. If I didn't help him, she'd no longer get the care she needs," he explained, before turning back to his desk. He wants to test this toxin once more before it is ready for dispersal."

"Don't do this," she begged, her voice cracking slightly. "Please. You know that there are effects that it could have on an unborn child."

Bill sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. The rational part of him was inwardly arguing with the obligational sense. It was nearly screaming in his mind. He turned and glanced at her stomach, the small bump more prominent as she laid on her back. She watched him run a fidgety hand through his hair before sitting back in his chair at the computer.

"Why don't you just let me go?" she suggested softly, her voice wavering as anxiety took over. "We could get away from this place."

Emily saw him turn his head slightly as she spoke, knowing that he was listening to what she was saying.

"I...I uh..I've had a change of heart," she told him softly. "I'm so sorry. I made the biggest mistake blowing you off years ago. I know that now. Let's just get out of this place and start fresh."

Bill turned in his seat, eager to hear what she had to say.

"What about Wayne?"

There was disdain in his voice as he spoke Bruce's surname. Emily shook her head.

"I can't go back to him," she said, her voice cracking as she said it. "Living with him is stressful. Life in the public eye is not what I expected it to be."

She saw him stand up and walk towards her. The glossiness in his eyes was being so obvious to her.

"We could raise the baby together and leave Gotham entirely," he suggested, as the thought was sounding more and more appealing to him.

Emily smiled.

"You mean what you said about leaving Bruce Wayne and Gotham?"

With tears in her eyes and regret in her heart, she nodded.

Taking a deep breath, he quickly untied her ankles before he reached over top of her and untied her wrists from the table, which allowed her to sit up. He smiled as she swung her legs over and sat up on the table in front of him.

"I've always wanted to hear you say those things," he said, shaking his head. "I knew that Bruce Wayne wouldn't make you happy the same way that I could. We have so much in common. We're both doctors and we've known each other for so many years. We have that chemistry, you know?"

Emily nodded and placed a smile on her face, as he rested his hands on either side of her and came up to stand directly in front of her. She was well aware of his close proximity and forced herself not to back away.

"I'll love this baby like it was my own," he whispered as he placed his hand over her stomach.

What surprised her next was when he leaned in and placed his lips on hers. Her initial reaction was to push him back, but she resisted. She fought the tears that threatened to fall down her face as she felt him wanting to deepen the kiss. Bill pulled her closer to him and the only thing that filled her mind was Bruce's face.

Feigning regret, she pulled back and smiled at Bill.

"Let's get out of here," she suggested softly, blinking away the tears in her eyes.

As though some sense had been unconsciously knocked back into him, he shook his head.

"Wait a sec. We can't," he said softly. "I can't. I have to finish my work."

"What?"

Emily was confused as to what was going on within Bill's mind. The drugs that he was under were wreaking havoc with his sense of right and wrong.

Before he had a chance to turn, Emily reached up and kneed'd him in the chest before punching him across the face. With a swift kick, she kicked him in the groin before he fell over in agony.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, as she placed her hand over her stomach. "I also had no choice."

Emily slipped out of the room and into the hallway.

The ship was a maze and although she stuck to waiting in the shadows, she knew it would only be a matter of time before she ran into someone. Her heart beat fast in her chest as the anticipation was weighing on her. She cursed herself for not being more observant when she was brought through the ship.

Upon hearing the sound of footsteps approaching, she quickly lunged forward and surprised the man she was attacking and managed to kick and punch him before rendering him unconscious in a few seconds. It was the second man that caught her by surprise as he was about to shout out at her when he suddenly fell forward to the ground.

Emily let out a sigh of relief when she saw Batman standing behind him. Her mind didn't believe what she was seeing as he swiftly walked towards her.

Quickly taking in their surroundings, he stopped in front of her. The Bruce Wayne in him wanted to wrap his arms around her, thankful that he had found her, but Batman was keenly aware that they were still in the midst of Crane's thugs.

"Are you all right?" he asked as quietly as possible.

She nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. "Alfred..."

Batman reached for her hand. "He's fine."

Emily felt a weight lift off of her as Batman said those two words. It was visible to Batman.

"I'll explain later."

He quickly led the way down the corridor. More than once, they encountered someone in the hallway and with a swift punch or elbow to the head, the man dropped to the floor.

He told Emily to stay behind him as he fought his way through the men. It wasn't until they were surrounded that Emily no longer stayed hidden behind Batman. Using what Bruce had taught her, she managed to bring one of the thugs to the floor, but not without running out of breath. She felt Batman put his hand on her shoulder as he reached around her and quickly kicked the man in the chin, knocking him unconscious to the floor.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly. "I think I need to work..."

Batman's gloved hand suddenly covered her mouth as she felt herself being pulled backward under a stairwell and into an unlocked service room door. She didn't protest against the gesture since she heard the reason why Batman quickly hid them as they stood in the room.

"The block C team hasn't checked in yet," they heard someone say from the top of the stairs.

"They're probably still bitter that they were put in charge of below deck," another man said. "It's stifling hot down there. It doesn't matter right now anyways. Crane wants us on deck. He's going to fire off the toxin in five minutes and then we're abandoning ship."

"I don't know about you, but I can't wait to go ashore after hell breaks loose," he said. "I'm heading straight for Gotham National and then I'm leaving this city."

They heard the other guy chuckle. "You and I both."

Emily visibly relaxed upon hearing their footsteps move further away. Batman turned to her, about to speak when something behind her caught his eye. Emily turned to see what had his attention.

Dozens of black barrels, each one connected by a small wire, filled the darkened room.

"Oh my god," Emily breathed. "We have to get out of here."

Without another word, Batman pushed open the door and glanced down the hallway before making his way out with Emily right behind him. As they made their way along, he suddenly stopped when they heard voices coming in another direction. Against her better judgement, Batman went towards them with Emily trailing right behind him.

Finally figuring that they had found the bridge, Batman waited at the door until a voice was heard right behind it. He glanced at Emily, gesturing for her to wait there. Suddenly, he pushed open the door. It rammed right into the face of the man at the door, causing him to fall backward to the floor, his gun falling away from him. Batman slid forward and grabbed another man reaching around him and twisting his arm before bringing him to the floor.

Emily heard the commotion and saw the shadow of the man Batman hit with the door as he stood up. Realizing that the man was currently unarmed and his gun was ont he floor, she quickly raced into the room, and punched the man in the lower back, causing him to cry out.

Batman turned his head from the man he was engaged in a fight with and clenched his jaw when he saw Emily about to take on the man that was larger than her.

Emily backed up as the man turned, seeing the blood on his forehead from the hit off the door.

"You little..." he began as he lunged towards her. Remembering her training with Bruce and a similar situation, she swung around and reached for the man's arm, bringing it back behind him. The man let out a yell as she kicked him in the back of the leg, bringing him to the floor with Emily pinning him down on his back.

She watched the man struggle for a moment and was about to push himself up when she saw Batman suddenly come forward and punch the man in the face, knocking him unconscious. Batman offered his hand to Emily and pulled her up to stand.

"Well look who wasn't too busy on the mainland to show up."

Batman spun around, seeing Crane near the control panel of the ship, a gun in hand and aimed at them.

"I'm actually honoured that you'll be able to witness a new era for Gotham," Crane told them, looking out the window towards the front of the ship where Gotham was sitting along the water in the distance. Down on the deck was the weapon that he was preparing to fire. "It's unfortunate that you wont live long enough to witness my vision."

Emily noticed Crane's was about to speak to her when his attention shifted from her towards the door.

"And Doctor Dravis! I was just about to ask Dr. Tucker about you," Crane said.

It was obvious from Bill's face that he was in pain, as his lip was swollen and his left eye was beginning to bruise. What concerned Emily most was the gun that was in Bill's hand. His focus was only on her.

"I loved you," Bill admitted to Emily. "I was willing to leave this god-forsaken city with you. I can't trust a word you say anymore!"

"Bill, please listen..." she began as he aimed the gun towards her. Instinctively, she held up her hands towards him. Knowing how unstable his mind was, his actions made her incredibly nervous. "This...this isn't you. The Bill Dravis that I know would never, ever raise a gun towards someone."

"Bill Dravis is weak, ordinary, awkward and going no where in this world."

Emily shook her head. "Is this the crap that Crane has been feeding you? He's been drugging you, Bill. Don't you realize it?"

She watched as Bill looked at Crane, puzzlingly. He shook his head.

"That can't be right," Bill said.

"Shoot her!" Crane exclaimed from across the room. "She's trying to confuse you!"

With those words, Batman looked between Crane and Bill, uncertain who to be more concerned about at the moment.

Emily watched as Bill pinched his eyes shut and ran his free hand over his face and across his forehead.

"I need to know the truth," he said, taking a step towards Emily. "Why did you kiss me when I know that you're in love with Bruce Wayne? Did you mean anything that you said to me?"

Emily wasn't certain how to answer. Anything she said could easily result in Bill pulling the trigger.

"Bill," she began, her voice soft, almost pleading. "You kissed me. I had no choice. I said what I did so that I could save myself. I had to save myself."

"You lied to me!" he suddenly exclaimed, causing her to jump.

"Shoot her! She's done nothing but toy with your emotions and play with your mind!" Crane ordered. "She doesn't care about you! She's nothing to you!"

"No!" Bill watched as Crane suddenly raised a gun, aiming it towards Emily. Without a moment's hesitation, Bill shifted and aimed his gun and Crane and fired.

Emily jumped at the sudden sound of the gun shot and watched Crane's expression of shock at feeling the bullet hit him in the chest. Not certain what he was about to do with the gun in his hand, Batman lunged towards Emily, pulling her with him to the ground as Crane let off one shot before collapsing to the floor. The bullet hit the ceiling and ricocheted towards the window, breaking the glass. The glass shattered to the floor as the sea wind from the outside blew in.

Batman and Emily pushed themselves up off the floor and stood up. Bill stood by the door, in surprise and dropped the gun to the ground at his feet before backing himself up against the wall.

"I killed him," Bill said softly, to himself. He looked down at his hands in horror and shock as they continued to tremble. "I killed a man."

Batman glared at Bill before making his way towards Crane, only to find the man had already died. Quickly, he turned to Bill.

"How do I turn off the weapon?"

Bill seemed to be entranced with the gun that had fallen from his hands onto the floor. Batman took a step towards him.

"Doctor Dravis!"

Bill jumped, as though he was shaken from his drugged stupor. He shook his head.

"It's on an automatic setting. It was set that way so that we could leave the ship before the weapon was fired and the ship exploded. It can't be stopped."

After thinking for a brief second, Emily rushed over to the helm.

"We need to move the ship further out to sea and turn it so that the it will fire away rather than over the city," she stated urgently.

Silently agreeing, Batman walked towards her. He saw Bill walk over to the controls and began the process of starting up the engines. He caught Batman's eye and paused.

"I helped to start this," he told him. "I want to help end it."

Batman turned to Emily, putting his hands onto the helm.

"The ship is going to explode," he said, softly. "You need to get out of here."

He grabbed a device from his belt and held it out towards her. "Once you're in the water and far enough away, press it and help will come find you."

Batman didn't have to know that she was about to protest his suggestion. He could already see it in her eyes. There was no way he would back down.

"I'm not leaving," she insisted.

Batman shook his head. "I don't want to argue with you on this one. You need to get off this boat now."

This time he saw the tears in her eyes.

"No," she stated, her voice barely audible. "I can't...I can't leave without you."

Without saying a word, Batman reached forward and put his hand on the small bump on her stomach. Emily quickly covered his hand with her own, squeezing it slightly.

"I need you go, please," Batman said, his voice softer.

"Here," Bill's voice suddenly said from behind her. Emily turned and saw him holding a gun in his palm towards her. "Take this in case you run into anyone."

Taking a deep breath to steady her emotions in front of the man, she took it. "Thank you."

"There's a rear, lower dock at the back of the ship. If you go along the deck and keep going aft, you'll come to a staircase down to a lower level. Turn right and then keep going and you can't miss it."

Emily nodded.

Bill turned to go back towards the control station. With everything they had been through, he didn't expect anything more from her.

"The engines are on," Bill told them from the station. "We're ready."

Emily turned back to Batman and watched as he didn't even look towards her. His eyes were focused on the night sky outside the front window with Gotham in the far distance. She knew that he wasn't going to look at her. He had placed that emotionless wall; his mask over his face.

Shaking her head, she reached forward and took his head, forcing him to look at her once more.

"Emily, you.."

She quickly placed her mouth over his, feeling every emotion pour out of her as she kissed him as though it were the first time all over again. Except she knew that this could be the last. When she felt that wall fall, the tears fell from her eyes. Finally, Emily broke the kiss, looking him into the eyes once more.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you," Batman told her, although they were said with Bruce's voice.

Looking into his eyes once more, she quickly turned and went towards the door. She looked towards Bill as she passed him and nodded her thanks before disappearing through the door.

Emily managed to easily make her way to the deck. The ship appeared to be deserted as she had yet to encounter anyone. She looked over the edge of the ship towards the dark water far below her. It was enough to send her fear of heights on overload. She'd have a tough time convincing herself to jump it if she wasn't pregnant.

It took her some time but she finally found the lower dock. She made her way out along the water and saw that no boats remained. The sound from the engine room echoed into where she was and she could already tell that they were moving further out to sea. She tossed the gun into the water and with a quick breath, she jumped into the water and swam away from the boat.

It felt like she was swimming forever. Her legs were getting tired and finally, Emily paused and looked back at the large boat moving further away. She turned and saw the lights of Gotham lit ahead of her and she continued to swim towards it. When she knew that she couldn't swim much further, she pressed the button on the device Batman had given her.

Emily only had to wait for a brief few minutes when a dark mass emerged from beneath the waters just a few feet behind her. It took a moment for her eyes to realize what she was looking at. She heard the sound of the door sliding open and could barely make out a figure standing up to look out.

"Is anyone there!?"

She knew that voice. An excitement bubbled within her.

"Alfred! I'm here!"

Emily began to swim towards the tumbler.

"Oh my goodness," he said as he reached as far over towards her as he could and grabbed onto her hand. "Emily, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she replied as he helped her out of the water and into the cockpit of the tumbler. Emily slid into the passenger seat and was greeted with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"You're soaking wet," Alfred commented, with a laugh before hugging her.

Emily wrapped her arms around him. "I thought you had died until Bruce told me otherwise."

Alfred leaned back and looked at her. "Where is Master Bruce?"

* * *

The bridge was silent as the boat was slowly turning. Batman noticed the shift as Gotham appeared further and further out of view from the bridge. His mind drifted to Emily, hoping that she was all right and that she had made her way off the ship by now.

"How much time is left?" Batman suddenly asked.

"I'm not certain," Bill replied. "A minute, maybe less. It looks like we'll be able to clear Gotham's skyline."

"We need to get it further out over the bay and away from the city."

Bill nodded. "The engines are at full. A few more seconds and we can just abandon ship."

He looked up at Batman as the man stood at the helm. He appeared intimidating but seeing Emily kiss him in front of his eyes and the exchange that he witnessed just prior to it sent Bill's mind spinning.

"You really were the right man for Emily," Bill said aloud. "It takes a great man to be able to live with her."

Batman simply turned his head slightly at the acknowledgement. Bill continued.

"You were exactly who she needed and she met you at the right time."

Batman heard Bill let out a light chuckle. "And now it makes so much sense. You gave the anonymous donation months ago."

There wasn't any point in denying it to a man who had seen the truth with his very eyes.

Batman nodded. "She helped me out. The best that I could do is do the same."

The conversation was quickly ended as a loud blast from the deck below them caught their attention as a rocket was fired off.

"Time to go!" Batman called out as he quickly turned from the helm and ran towards the door with Bill.

* * *

The tumbler rocked as a loud rumble was felt within the small space.

Emily gasped when she realized what was happening. She reached over Alfred in the cockpit and pressed a button to open the top access. With Alfred protesting, she stood up and looked over the edge at the scene in front of her.

Oil fires danced on the water surface as the largest chunk of the ship remaining began to fill with water and sink. Debris floated in the water all around them. In the darkness, she could barely see through the smoke.

Emily's eyes darted back and forth, trying to find anything moving, anything familiar in the water.

"Is anything showing up on the sonar?" she asked.

Alfred shook his head. "There is too much debris in the water and the fires are throwing off the infrared."

He looked at the screen, seeing the moving dots on the radar coming towards them.

"We need to get out of here," Alfred said. "The coast guard is on their way."

Emily turned to look towards the harbour and saw a group of 4 boats speeding towards them. Taking one last look at the sinking ship, she ducked back into the tumbler and allowed the rooftop to cover them before disappearing beneath the surface.

Silence filled the tumbler as Alfred maneuvered the machine away from the sinking debris and towards the mainland where they could exit without being noticed. Neither one said a word on their way back to the cave.

Alfred let out a sigh of relief once the tumbler came to a stop within the cave.

"I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be required to drive this thing," he quipped with a slight smile. He glanced over at Emily as she climbed out of the tumbler.

Alfred followed as they made their way up to Wayne Manor.

"Master Bruce will probably be along later on tonight," Alfred added as they stepped out from behind the bookshelf and into the study. Emily simply nodded and gave a small smile. "I'm certain that you're probably tired, but can I get you anything to eat?"

Emily stopped in the hallway and shook her head.

"I'm not very hungry right now," she said softly. "I think I'll just get some sleep and wait for Bruce to come home."

Alfred smiled weakly and nodded as he watched the woman walk away from him towards the stairs. He didn't find it easy to keep being optimistic about Bruce's survival. He had seen the destruction of the ship with his own eyes. For anyone to survive the blast, it would be a miracle. It wasn't something that he was ready to admit verbally to himself. As he watched Emily make her way up the stairs, he couldn't help but think that the unborn child within her would never know its father.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N - Thank you for all the reviews, PM's and alerts. I appreciate them.

* * *

Emily closed the door to the bedroom and flipped on the light switch, instantly illuminating the room in a soft glow. All she wanted at that moment was to wake up from the horrible nightmare that she was currently walking through. It didn't seem real. He couldn't be gone. He's Batman. After everything that he's done in his lifetime, it didn't make sense that something like this would kill him.

Unfortunately, her rational mind reminded her that he was still just a man.

She walked into the bathroom and stoically went through the motions of taking a shower and getting dressed for bed, forcing herself not to dwell on the fact that when she came out of the room, that she would still be alone. Emily turned off the light and glanced at the clock beside the bed, reminding her of the fact that sunrise was only an hour away. Feeling the aches in her legs cry out, she slipped between the sheets and pulled the comforter up to her chest and sighed, relishing in how nice it felt to be able to lie down. She rolled over, attempting to get into a comfortable position and stopped when her eyes fell on the empty, cold space beside her. Slowly and tentatively, she reached over and ran her hand over the comforter before grazing her hand across the vacant pillow.

"You're coming back to me, right?" she whispered softly.

As much as she wanted to believe it and try her hardest to remain optimistic, the nightmare was returning.

Emily slid closer to the centre of the bed, as she would when Bruce was there. It was then that she noticed it. The smell.

It had become obvious to her that her sense of smell had increased with the pregnancy. Smells would usually aggravated her but in this instance, it was calming. It was Bruce.

She reached for his pillow and pulled it closer to her, wrapping her arms around it. If she had told herself a year prior that she would be hugging a pillow because of the smell, she would think herself crazy. Then again, she was certain that she would have run in the opposite direction of Bruce Wayne. Now, all she wanted was to have him beside her once again.

Emily took a deep breath and closed her eyes, enjoying the light smell of his shampoo and cologne that lingered on his pillow. Her mind drifted to the first time she noticed that smell - the cramped bathroom of the private jet after she had been experiencing motion sickness. She couldn't recall the exact conversation except for the fact that Bruce had apologized to her for an outburst. Emily had felt the cool wash cloth on her neck and had her eyes closed with each wave of nausea, perfectly oblivious to how close Bruce had been crouching beside her when she had first smelled his cologne. She was oblivious again, when she was standing at the sink, attempting to gain control over her weak stomach. She had looked at herself in the mirror and saw her pale face looking back at her and Bruce behind her. In her mind, Emily opened her eyes and this time Bruce wrapped his arms around her waist. She watched as he would lean down and place feather-light kisses on her shoulder and begin a trail of them up her neck and to her ear. Emily closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation that he was causing within her.

"I'll never leave you," he whispered to her.

Emily opened her eyes with a gasp. The voice seemed to be right in the room with her that she had to sit up to look around to convince herself that it was part of a dream. Emily ran her hand through her hair before looking over at the clock. She sighed when she realized that only ten minutes had gone by. Emily laid back down, pulling the pillow to her chest and wrapping her arms over it. From deep within her, a sob came to the surface. She pulled the pillow up to her face, and cried.

* * *

Alfred leaned towards the window over the sink and cranked it open, allowing the fresh mid-day air into the kitchen. He breathed in the summer air as he attempted to handle the fifth caller asking for Bruce that day.

"I'm sorry," Alfred said, as he spoke on the phone. "The best that I can do is take a message and have him return it when he comes home."

Alfred looked over at the muted television as he listened to the man on the phone. Footage and news of the explosion, the murder of the Mayor and Joker's escape from Arkham were reported on the broadcast and he had been waiting and hoping that he would hear some good news to start his day.

"I'm not certain when he'll return," Alfred replied, as he saw Emily walk into the room. "He's away on an extended vacation."

She smiled at him as she sat down and turned to look up at the television, reading the ticker as it slid across the bottom of the screen. Alfred barely listened to the caller anymore as the look of exhaustion on Emily's face concerned him.

"I'll make sure to tell him. Thank you."

Alfred hung up the phone and looked over at Emily.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"A board member," Alfred replied, turning to the stove as he turned on the burners and pulled out the eggs from the fridge. "They were wanting Bruce to attend a meeting today. I've been telling everyone that he's away on a trip."

Emily nodded.

"I'm going to prepare you some eggs for breakfast," he told her. "How many would you like?"

She shook her head, keeping her eyes on the television. "Don't bother. I'm not hungry."

Emily heard the sound of Alfred sighing as well as the distinct crack of an egg.

"Unfortunately for you, my dear, you have no choice in the matter," he said, his tone a little more irritated that she had been used to. "You may not be hungry, but I'm determined to force feed you if I have to. You have a child within you to consider. And speaking of the baby, I took the liberty to call Dr. Thompkins this morning. After everything you've been through, we both felt that it was important that she came over and gave you a quick check up."

After he spoke, he looked over at Emily, surprised to hear that she wasn't objecting to his suggestions as she normally would. In fact, he was surprised that she wasn't saying anything at all.

Concerned, he walked over to where she sat at the table. Her face lacked emotion as she looked down at the engagement ring on her left hand.

"I barely slept," she informed him, her voice weak. "And when I did, it was always about Bruce. I could feel him and hear him like he was in the room with me." She shook her head. "I know it probably sounds crazy."

Alfred smiled softly, resting his hand on hers. "No, not crazy."

She raised her eyes and met his. In them he could see that deep pain. He had seen it once within Bruce's eyes after his parents funeral.

"If I just knew either way, whether he made it or not, then maybe it would be easier," she remarked, as Alfred nodded. "I need to know what happened."

Alfred thought for a moment before he spoke.

"You have the honour of knowing that he died protecting you and the people of Gotham," Alfred reminded her. "What greater memory is there than that of knowing that someone you love was a hero?"

Emily scoffed, wiping the tears that escaped her eyes.

"That doesn't make it any easier."

"Of course not," Alfred quickly added. "You may not realize it right now, but knowing what Master Bruce did willingly so that you could live will help heal your heart, in time. That can be your closure."

That was it. That was what she was needing.

Emily recalled being sad when her mother passed away, but it was nothing like this. They had grown apart throughout her teenage years as her Mom dated an array of men, nearly a new one every few months. Even when her Father left home, she was upset, but she was too young to understand that he would never come back. She had to admit that this was the first time in her life that she had actually lost someone extremely close to her. And it hurt like hell.

Alfred watched as Emily's expression changed before she almost shamefully covered her face with her hands in an effort to conceal the tears that began to pour from her eyes. Feeling overwhelmed with sympathy for the woman, Alfred pulled her up to stand and wrapped his arms around her.

He sighed as she sobbed into his shoulder. It wasn't fair. He found that there were too many times in his life that he had to comfort someone in mourning; Bruce, twice and now Emily. This lot that the Wayne family had been dealt wasn't fair.

Emily opened her eyes as they caught an image on the television. She wiped her tears with her hand and looked up at the screen as Alfred turned, curious to see what had her attention.

Joker.

A large stilled image of the monster was on the television as the newscaster spoke.

Alfred watched as Emily reached forward to unmute the television.

_"...at large and considered extremely dangerous. Police are warning Gothamites to be cautious and to report any suspicious activity to the Major Crimes Unit. After this mornings death of Counsellor Jeffrey Meyers, the police have not implied that the Joker was involved but sources say that it is evident around the crime scene that he is the prime suspect."_

The camera panned past the police tape to the image on the front door of the upscaled townhouse of a large bat painted in what onlookers could only assume to be that of the Meyers' blood.

"He's trying to taunt him," Emily said softly, as the broadcasters continued on the television. "He wants Batman. He said it himself the night he killed the mayor. And unfortunately he wont get what he wants. His violence may just escalate."

"God help us," Alfred mumbled, beside Emily.

* * *

As the days went by, Alfred grew concerned. Emily would never left the house and he would find her roaming the hallways, talking softly to herself. She refused dinner invitations and phone calls, keeping all to herself. She would only speak to him when spoken to. There were days where he'd find her in the gym, angrily beating a punching bag with her fists until she had no more energy remaining. That is where he found her once again. Sweat glistened on her forehead before she stopped and gently ran her hand over her obviously pregnant stomach, speaking softly once again.

Alfred sighed, watching the scene unfold as Emily prepared to unleash another battle against the unsuspecting punching bag. This had gone on for far too long. Bruce had been missing for just over a month and Emily had yet to leave the house for more than a quick jaunt into the city to pick something up. He was determined to get her back to the land of the living.

"Ah, there you are," Alfred said pleasantly, making his presence known as he walked into the gym. Emily turned, hearing his voice. "Today is the day, my dear."

"The day for what?"

Alfred paused, looking at her and not showing his surprise at her lack of enthusiasm.

"You have an appointment with Dr. Thomkins in an hour and I assured her that I would bring you myself, seeing as you managed to miss the last one," he said, picking up the water bottle on the floor. "Besides, Leslie mentioned that you're half way through the pregnancy and you're at a point where you could find out whether the baby is a boy or girl."

Emily shrugged, giving the bag another punch.

"It doesn't really matter to me," she stated.

"I thought that you'd want to find out. I certainly am curious."

Emily paused and looked back at Alfred, the same expression that he would get when it was a topic that she didn't want to talk about. Alfred sighed. As much as he wanted to shake some sense into Emily, he was aware that this was her way of dealing with what she had been going through.

"Either way, we're leaving in twenty minutes, so I suggest you shower and get dressed," he stated, before he turned and left the room.

* * *

The ride in the Bentley was made in silence as Alfred drove through the city. He purposely took a different route and was hoping that Emily was so lost in whatever reverie she was experiencing to notice. Alfred glanced up at the rear view mirror and found her looking down at whatever she had in her lap. With a slight smirk, he turned another corner. He was certain that he would arrive at their destination without Emily realizing where they were until he heard her voice.

"Alfred, this isn't the way. Where are we going?"

Before saying a word, he pulled the car up alongside the curb.

"Here."

Emily undid her seat belt and slid across the seat to look out at the building they had pulled up beside. A smile tugged at Alfred's mouth as he watched her push open the door and climb out of the car. Alfred stepped out of the car and walked around to stand beside her, both of them looking up at the building.

"Alfred, what...?

"Master Bruce intended for this to be a surprise for you," Alfred told her. "He arranged everything with the board a few days before the accident and I thought that it would be good to see."

A smile came to Emily's face.

A building under construction was being built in the spot where the clinic once stood. It was currently being bricked and the sound of power saws and hammers could easily be heard echoing onto the sidewalk where they had blocked off a portion for safety-sake.

"Bruce did all of this without me knowing?"

Alfred nodded. "He always was a master of deception."

Emily let out a light chuckle.

"If you'd like to know construction information or details, I'm certain that Mr. Fox could oblige. Since everything that has happened, he's now overseeing the construction. Would you like me to bring you to Wayne Tower?"

Emily looked over at Alfred, confused. "I thought that I had an appointment with Leslie."

Alfred smiled sheepishly. "It's tomorrow."

Emily shook her head as she smiled. "You know, I really should be angry, but this," she said, gesturing to the building. "This is the best news I've had in a long time."

* * *

Alfred had dropped her off at the door with the reminder to just call him when she was ready. She received more than a few stares as she walked into Wayne Tower. Emily glanced at security for a brief moment and they nodded back at her, silently assuring her that they were watching. She was certain that there were snap shots taken of her as she stepped onto the elevator. Emily wasn't sure if it was because of her being more evidently pregnant, her presence at Wayne Tower or the fact that she was dressed super casual in a t-shirt and denim capris with flip flops on her feet. She was certainly prepared for the late summer heat and not for a business environment.

She tucked her sun glasses into her purse as she stepped off the elevator and onto the executive floor. Emily could hear voices behind the closed doors and the odd phone ringing as she made her way towards Fox's office.

"Dr. Tucker?"

Emily turned to find an older man coming up behind her. He smiled politely to her and extended his hand towards her.

"It's good to see you again. I'm assuming that you're taking it easy, given your current condition."

Emily tried to think of his name. She had met him before and Bruce had even personally introduced him to her as someone who once worked with his father. She remembered the light accent as she tried to put a name to a face when it suddenly came to her.

"Mr. Fredericks," she said, shaking his hand with no evidence of the internal mind-recall she had just milliseconds prior. "Yes, I have been making sure to put my feet up and not pushing myself too hard."

The man nodded and smiled. "That's good to hear. I'm sure that you're looking forward to having Bruce home. By the way, when is he going to be returning?"

Emily concealed the look of horror on her face with a smile and paused for a moment.

"Actually..."

"Dr. Tucker!"

Both Fredericks and Emily turned to see Mr. Fox walking towards them. Emily had never been so relieved.

"I thought that was you," Fox said, a smile on his face.

"Well, it's hard to miss me these days," she quickly quipped, allowing the speed of her heart to return back to normal.

Lucius shook his head. "Oh, no, no! You look great!"

Emily chuckled.

"You certainly know how to make a pregnant woman dealing with this horrible heat wave feel good," she said, to which Lucius simply shrugged.

"Not that I don't enjoy the visit, but what brings you to this area of the city?"

"I came to ask you some questions regarding the construction of the clinic."

A knowing smile appeared on Lucius' face. "Ah, certainly."

Emily excused herself from Fredericks and followed Lucius into his office. The man waited for the door to close before speaking to her.

"So, I'm taking that you saw it. What do you think?"

Emily let out a breath as she sat down in a vacant chair. "I think it is amazing. I really appreciate what Wayne Enterprises is doing for that area of Gotham. This is going to benefit so many people. When are the doors set to open?"

Lucius smiled as he sat down behind his desk.

"Well that all depends on you," he said, pulling out a file folder from a small stack on the side of his desk. "The schematic and plans are based on what was already laid out with the previous building with some added, updated features. What we're needing next is a wish list."

Emily looked at him, perplexed as to what he was asking.

"Considering this is an area of your expertise, the board suggested that we allow you to come up with an outline of the necessary instruments, medical supplies, computers, chairs, tables; anything that would be needed to get a medical facility up and running. After all, if you're going to be running it, you should be the one deciding what is needed rather than a bunch of bean counters or businessmen."

"Wow," she said, her surprise and shock evident in her voice. "That is just... Wow."

"And provided that everything works out, we're hoping to hand you the keys by the beginning of November."

"That's less than three months away. This must have been in the works for a while to have the completion so soon."

Lucius smiled.

"You can thank Bruce for it," he said. "He set everything up with the contractors and with the backing of the board for financial resources, the ball began rolling."

He paused for a moment. He knew the next few words may be sensitive and hearing from Alfred how Emily had been faring over the past month, he knew to tread gently.

"Speaking of Bruce, have you heard from him?"

Emily simply shook her head to which Lucius sighed.

"I assumed that he would be back by now if he...made it out," Emily said, softly.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do?"

"I'm not certain that I know what you mean."

"People are questioning how long he'll be away, where is he and why hasn't he contacted anyone. And then there are the rumours regarding you and..."

"What?" Emily quickly interrupted, leaning forward. "Hold on a sec. Rumours?"

Lucius paused, completely unaware that she hadn't known. He shifted somewhat uncomfortably in his chair and cleared his throat, before looking back at the woman across the desk from him.

"There have been some stories that are being circulated, not just here at Wayne Enterprises, but within the media as well," Lucius said.

Emily sighed and leaned back in her chair. It made sense now as to why so many people had been whispering and staring at her when she walked in.

"I guess I should have expected that." She paused, her curiosity getting the better of her. "What are they saying?"

Lucius winced and smiled politely. "I don't think it would be wise..."

"Lucius, I want to know."

With a sigh, he began.

"The most prevalent of rumours that I've heard is that Bruce left you for another woman for a foreign country," he told her. Emily had to admit to herself that it didn't sound too awful. "And the other is that your child doesn't belong to him. It's being speculated that you're claiming that the baby is his only to reap the hefty child support from him."

"What?!"

Lucius shrugged. "They're simply rumours and they were bound to happen with Bruce mysteriously disappearing and being out of the social spotlight for so long." He paused for a moment, considering his words. "It might be wise if we declare Bruce as dead."

Emily's eyes shot up at Lucius. The words had such a finality to them.

"Lucius," Emily began as she shook her head. "I don't think I could..."

He held up his hand, sensing her disapproval. "Just think about it for a while. Bruce has been gone for over a month now. I know that he would want both you and the baby to be taken care of. Unfortunately, since you both never married, legally you're not entitled to his trust, but the baby would be, as his sole heir. It would also put an end to the rumours that have been circulating."

Emily unconsciously placed her hand over her pregnant stomach as Lucius looked towards her.

"No," Emily said simply and softly. "No. I just can't do that. Not yet."

Lucius looked down at his desk and nodded, as Emily stood up.

"I understand," he told her. "But do think about it."

She smiled weakly as she picked up her purse. Lucius stood up to show her to the door when the small envelope on the side of his desk caught his eye. He smiled.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he said, picking it up. "If you're up for a night out, one of the board members is having a party this coming weekend at the art gallery and along with the rest of the board, he's inviting you."

He handed her the invitation, to which she simply looked at her name written in the beautiful calligraphy. She smiled weakly.

Emily wasn't certain if she was getting a sudden wave of dizziness, but she reached out and grabbed ahold of Lucius' arm as the vibrations rattled her.

"Did you feel that too?" he asked.

"Was that an earthquake?" Emily asked, anxiously as the rumbling came to a stop.

"For as long as I've lived in Gotham, I have never experienced an earthquake like that," Lucius said, as they walked out into the hallway as more bewildered office personnel and business people appeared. Emily followed, wondering what was going on.

"The phones are down!" someone called out.

They soon discovered that not only were the phones no longer working, but neither were the elevators. The large group began to walk down the many flights of stairs, slowly going down to the street level for evacuation. The lights suddenly went out as the emergency lighting lit up the stairwell when Emily's cell phone began to ring. Not bothering to check the ID, she simply answered it.

"Hello?"

_"Emily, are you all right?"_

"I'm fine, Alfred," she replied thankful for the rest from walking down the steps. "What's going on?"

_"I don't know,"_ Alfred told her. _"There is smoke coming up from the basement level of Wayne Tower and the lobby windows have been blown out. Where are you?"_

Emily looked at the door that they had just passed as Lucius walked up behind her.

"25th floor in the stairwell. They shut down the elevators. Mr. Fox is with me."

She heard Alfred let out a sigh of relief.

"Take it easy on the stairs," he reminded her. "I'll be waiting for you on the other side of the road."

As they made their way closer and closer to the ground level, the smell of smoke filled the stairwell. They were met at the first floor but were quickly diverted away from the main entrance. Emily was so relieved to see the sunshine and breathe in the fresh air. She turned and saw Commissioner Gordon escorting Mr. Fox away from the building and the group of reporters that had gathered on the street, speaking to him as they went. Emily turned and followed the group of businessmen as they were ushered past the media vultures, waiting to hear the latest news on the explosion that rocked the downtown financial district.

Emily kept her head down and tried her best to face away from the crowd as the police tape was lifted above their heads to allow her and the others to walk through.

"Emily Tucker!"

Her heart began to pound.

In almost an instant she was confronted with a microphone in her face, and it stopped her dead in her tracks.

"What do you say to the speculation that your unborn baby isn't Bruce Wayne's?"

The woman with the microphone looked down at Emily's stomach with disregard. Emily scoffed as she walked around her as more people began to swarm around her, each with their own camera and microphone, waiting for an answer.

"Get away from me, please."

Not surprisingly, they didn't listen.

"Dr. Tucker! Can you give us a statement regarding your relationship with Mr. Wayne?"

"Do you even know where he is?"

Emily continued to walk, the media following closely beside her, taking the pictures they wanted to get. A second later, a man came up beside her and she was about to move away from him when she realized it was Alfred. He took her by the arm and led her towards the car, opened the door and quickly shut it the moment she was inside.

The flashes from the cameras instantly ceased as Alfred climbed into the car and pulled away from the curb.

"Are you all right, my dear?" he asked, looking at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah," she quickly replied, her adrenaline from trying to get away from the media still coursing through her. She leaned back and rested her head against the back of the seat and sighed. "That was insane. I've never experienced something like that before where I felt so trapped."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't get your attention sooner. Learning to deal with the media is something one should never do alone. They become like a wild animal, ready to prey on the inexperienced."

"That's all right," she said, watching the cars around them. "I'm just glad to get out of there. Whatever happened, it had to have been big."

"I overheard some people that were on the street at the time," Alfred told her. "They said it sounded like a bomb went off."

* * *

**3 days after the ship explosion...**

"Wake up!"

"Come on, come on, wake up!"

He rolled over onto his side and instantly regretted it as a searing pain ripped through his shoulder. The pain was excruciating and didn't seem to ease up at all.

Batman opened his eyes, catching a glint of sunlight streaming in through the holes in the wooden roof. In the rafters above, a large outboard motor rested; a haven for a pair of pigeons who made their presence known as they fluttered about.

"We...we have to get out of here."

Batman turned towards the source of the voice behind him, clenching his teeth against the pain as he attempted to turn, finding that his arms had been tied up behind him.

Bill Dravis.

He sat in a wooden chair, his arms tied behind him and sweat dripping down his forehead. Bill couldn't sit still. It appeared as though he was crawling out of his skin. Batman noticed the dried remnants of a bloody gash across his forehead.

He was about to speak when the sound of chains being unlocked at the door caught his attention. A wooden door swung open and a man holding a rifle stepped in.

The unlocking of chains was heard outside the door before the wooden door swung open and a man holding a rifle stepped in. He aimed it down at Batman.

"You're up! Now, maybe you can tell me what the hell you're doing out here."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N - So sorry for the delay. And thank you soooo much for the kind messages sent to me. They reminded me that there is interest in this beyond the criticism. It meant so much to me! I had this partially done for a while, but I'd tear it apart and start over whenever I'd sit down to work on it - I was never satisfied with it. Still, looking at it now, I'm not sure about it. This was the hardest chapter to write for me. Hopefully, this is the end of my writers block. :)

* * *

What was that smell?

Alfred woke up and glanced at the illuminated clock beside the bed and saw that it was nearly seven in the morning. He stood up and walked into the hallway as he tied his house coat closed.

The sun was just rising on the crisp, fall morning. The remains of summer had died away and the colour of the leaves proved it. He could feel the coolness of a breeze as he approached the kitchen as well as the smell of burning toast.

He stopped at the kitchen door to see a plate of burned toast sitting near the sink and frying pan waiting on the stove. It wasn't until he glanced at the open fridge door that he saw Emily crouched down in front of it, searching for something in the farthest reaches.

Alfred walked up to her.

"The milk should be in the door," he said, startling Emily and causing her to drop one of the eggs that she held in her hand.

It splattered on the floor at her feet.

She sighed and winced at the mess.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my dear," Alfred said, as he quickly reached over her for the wash cloth on the counter and a handful of paper towels from the stand. He passed a few to Emily's waiting hand before he bent over beside her to help pick up the shells.

"It's all right, Alfred," she said, pushing herself up to stand, conscious that her centre of gravity had shifted forward with her growing stomach. "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head as he dropped the last pieces of shells into the garbage.

"I usually by now. But, I've never seen you up this early before."

"I didn't sleep well and then the baby started rolling and moving around about an hour ago," she replied, letting out a sigh. "And, I'm nervous about the meeting this morning."

Alfred smiled sympathetically. "We mustn't think the worst of the situation. Commissioner Gordon may have something to say that has nothing to do with Batman."

Ever since city hall called the day before, informing Alfred that Commissioner Gordon wished to meet with Mr. Fox, and Emily for the following morning, Alfred could only imagine as to what it pertained to. He knew that Emily had been dwelling on it as well, but she had never voiced her concern until now.

"I'll give you a hand with breakfast," Alfred said, swiftly changing the subject.

Emily shook her head and gently pushed the older man away from the stove and towards the counter. He protested as she had him back up.

"No, not today Alfred," she said, with a smile. "I'm making breakfast for you this morning."

With a sigh, Alfred reluctantly slid into a chair by the counter and eyed the pile of burned toast.

"I must admit that I feel awkward having you wait on me like this," he said, as he glanced at the open newspaper further down the counter. "I can't recall a time when Master Bruce made me breakfast."

Emily looked over her shoulder as she tossed an empty eggshell into the garbage.

"You've been such a support for me, that this is the least that I could do," she told him as she followed his gaze towards the open paper.

Her smile faded as she watched him pull it towards him. She turned back around towards the frying pan and watched as the egg sizzled in front of her. Emily waited for the question she knew was on Alfred's mind.

"You're looking for an apartment?"

She shrugged, her back still towards him.

"Yeah, I've been looking."

She heard the newspaper rustle behind her as Alfred closed it and gently pushed it aside.

"May I ask why?"

With a sigh, she turned around, spatula in hand.

"This is Bruce's home, not mine," she replied. "I've been here for such a short time. I don't even think I've been in every room yet. I feel like a stranger in this house."

Alfred shook his head and smiled.

"This is your home. Bruce would have wanted you to stay and live here." He paused and glanced at her pregnant stomach. "He would want you to raise your child here and give him or her a childhood that he missed out on."

Emily looked down at her protruding stomach and felt another jab in her side, harder than she had felt all morning. It caused her to gasp and she quickly put her hand to the spot on her side.

"Are you all right?" Alfred asked, standing up.

Emily smiled, seeing the concern on Alfred's face.

"It's fine," she told him, as she chuckled. "These kicks are getting harder and are beginning to hurt more."

The baby kicked again and this time she reached out and grabbed Alfred's hand. The action startled the old man until he realized what she was doing. She put it against her stomach.

"Feel that?" she asked, happily. "This is what I've been enduring all morning."

Alfred smiled as he felt the movement beneath Emily's skin.

"That most certainly is Master Bruce's child," Alfred stated with a chuckle. He reached down and took Emily's hand. "This is why you must stay."

Emily sighed and squeezed his hand. "You'll come with me today to the meeting at Wayne Tower?"

"Of course."

* * *

3 days after the boat explosion

Batman tried to quickly take in his surroundings as the man held his rifle tightly in his hands. He estimated that the man wasn't much older than he was. He had more than a few days of stubble on his face and his hands clearly shown that he was a man who worked with them.

"Imagine my surprise when I'm out fishin' and find you two, washed up and out cold on the beach," he said.

"Where are we?" Batman asked, the pain in his shoulder intensifying with any movement he attempted.

"You fellas are in my boat shed" the man said, glancing up at the rafters and the walls. "The misses didn't want the likes of you in our home. Can't say that I blame her. I don't want myself a murderer in my house either."

The man aimed the gun back towards Batman.

"But now I'm stuck with the problem of what to do with you two," the man said. "I'm not a killin' man, but I'm not fond of those who do."

"Are you going to call the police?" Bill asked, hopeful.

The man let out an scoff and laughed. "Those buffoons? They're the last thing I want coming out to my place. So, you see my predicament."

He paused and looked at Bill, seeing the gash on his head. Slowly, he put down the rifle against the wall and walked up him. The man bent forward and took ahold of his chin, tipping his head to get a better look at it in the dim light of the shed.

"That's gonna be needing some looking after," he said.

He stood back up and glanced down at Batman and Bill before sighing. "I'll be back in a bit."

He picked up the rifle and pushed open the door, allowing a flood of sunlight into the shed for a brief moment before he shut the door. Batman and Bill heard the sound of a chorus of chains and locks being attached before the echo of footsteps getting quieter as they moved further away.

Bill let out a sigh and unconsciously shook his head. His attempt to hold in the tremors that his body was experiencing worked. Batman turned to him.

"I think that I'm experiencing withdraw symptoms," he Bill stated. The drug that Crane had been feeding him for months was slowly leaking out of his system and his body wasn't enjoying the change. "I've always heard that the first few days are bad but I never thought that they would be this horrible."

Batman shifted again on the floor and gasped in pain.

"Your shoulder is dislocated," Bill told him, his voice wavering. "Try not to move it."

As he said it, Batman knew that he was right. It had been a while since he had dislocated it.

"Do you know if Emily made it off the boat?" Bill asked softly.

The mention of her name coming from Bill's mouth angered him. Not knowing the answer pained him.

"I'm not sure."

Bill watched Batman's face look at the shed door, his emotions clearly being hidden behind the mask.

"I never had the chance to congratulate you," Bill added, looking at Batman. "I mean, about the baby." He didn't say a word nor did he look at Bill. "I wouldn't blame you if you hated me. I know I did some horrible things but I never intended to get Emily involved with my mess. I didn't have any choice in what I did."

At that statement, Batman turned towards Bill. Bill could see the anger in his eyes and it was evident in Batman's tone of voice even though he kept it soft. "There is always a choice. You knew exactly..."

Batman stopped speaking once he heard those footsteps approaching on the wooden deck. They watched silently as the door was unlocked and the man walked back in, this time with his rifle over the crook of one arm and a bucket in the other. He set them both down on the ground before closing the door behind him.

The man pulled out a container from inside his bucket and walked over to Bill as he began to open it and pulled out a piece of gauze. With a sigh he began to dab away the blood from the wound.

"Where in Gotham are we?"

The man chuckled. "We're no where near that god-forsaken city. We're a good 150 miles down the coast."

"Daddy?"

The man turned hearing the soft voice coming from behind the closed door. He put down the gauze and walked over to the door, pushing it open slightly. Through the small crack in the door, Batman could see a little boy holding a plate in each of his hands.

"Mommy said that your friends needed something to eat," he said, looking past his father and into the boat shed with curiosity.

"Thanks buddy," the man said, taking the plates from him.

"Can I please see him?"

The man sighed.

"He's a dangerous man."

"Please, Daddy. Just for a minute?" the boy insisted.

Finally, the man nodded as the young boy walked into the boat shed as the man cautiously picked up his rifle and stood beside his son. The boy was no more than five years old and had a blond mop of unruly hair on his head.

"What happened to them?" the boy asked his father, looking at Bill's bloodied face.

"I don't know."

The boy looked right at Batman.

"He doesn't look dangerous. Are you sure that's the real Batman? I thought he'd be scarier and bigger."

The man seemed to smile at the boy's innocence. "He looks like him, doesn't he?"

The boy shrugged.

"He could be just dressed up to look like him," the boy suggested.

"I suppose."

"I'm Thomas," the boy said, just as the father quickly pulled him back.

"I don't want you talking to them, do you understand me?"

Thomas sulked as his reached out and ruffled his son's hair before ushering him out of the boat shed and closed the door behind him. He picked up the plates that his son had brought to him and uncovered it to reveal a piece of meat, some mashed potatoes and a biscuit. The smell quickly filled the small shed and Bill was certain that he heard his stomach growl.

Looking at Batman and Bill cautiously, he walked over to them and untied the ropes that bound their wrists before picking up his rifle.

"Go ahead and eat," he told them. "I may be keeping you tied up in here, but I'm not going to let you starve."

He backed up towards the door.

"I'll be back later," he told them before he shut the door behind him and proceeded to lock it.

* * *

Present time

Four security checkpoints and two metal detectors later, Emily and Alfred were standing within an elevator, waiting for it to open on Commissioner Gordon's office floor. Although she never said it, she was anxious. Alfred had grown to recognize it in Emily as the woman would become silent. And so, they stood silently in the elevator just as the ride to city hall had been made in silence.

As the elevator came to a stop and the doors open, he smiled politely before stepping back, allowing her to step off first before walking beside her towards Gordon's office. As they approached the office, Emily instantly recognized Mr. Fox speaking with the Commissioner in the hallway. There seemed to be a break in their banter as Mr. Fox suddenly noticed Emily and Alfred approach.

"Thank you for coming," Gordon said, gesturing to his office. "Please come in."

He waited until everyone was in his office and then closed the door behind them.

"I'm sorry that we're running a little late," Emily said, slowly sitting down in one of the leather chairs across from Gordon's desk. "We were slowed down by the security."

"You'll have the excuse the increase in security here," Gordon said as he made his way to his chair at his desk. "With the homicides of city officials, safety has been priority around here."

He paused for a moment.

"And that is technically what I wanted to discuss with you today."

Emily shifted slightly in her chair as Gordon continued to speak.

He looked towards Mr. Fox.

"The investigation of the explosion at Wayne Tower turned out that it wasn't accidental," he said, before looking down at an open file on his desk. "I had forensics piece together exactly what caused it and it was traced back to a single parcel within the mailing department."

"A bomb within a package?" Lucius asked, as Gordon nodded and sifted through the few pages of reports. "We have very high security when it comes to unusual packages being sent to Wayne Tower. The Tower encompasses so many of the city's water supply systems and the new main train terminal, that we're always on alert for anything suspicious."

Gordon tipped his head to the side and shrugged slightly as he pulled out a file.

"This one must have slipped through the cracks," he told him.

"I understand the importance that this is to the security of Wayne Tower, but what does it have to do with myself and Miss Tucker?" Alfred suddenly asked.

"The intended recipient of the package was Bruce Wayne," Gordon told them. "Luckily for him, it was never picked up. I'm certain that an explosion at the higher levels of the Tower would have been more disastrous."

Emily listened and let the information digest. Someone wanted to kill Bruce.

"I'm suggesting that you increase the security around Wayne Manor as well," Gordon added. He paused and looked over at Emily, noting that she seemed to be in deep thought. "Given that the Joker has been killing counsellors, attorneys and high ranking officials, we're suspecting that he may be behind it."

That seemed to have caught her attention and her eyes went up to meet Gordon's.

"The Joker? You believe the Joker sent the bomb?"

Gordon nodded.

"Mr. Wayne is the unofficial face for the financial sector of Gotham," he said. "He's popular, and often graces the covers of more than a few newspapers and magazines. He's a reasonable target for Joker."

"What are you doing to stop him?!"

"Believe me, Miss Tucker, we're doing everything we can to track him down," Gordon replied.

"And Batman?"

The statement caused Gordon to skip a beat and Emily could feel the eyes of Lucius and Alfred on her. Her own heart beat wildly as she tried to maintain her composure as she had trained herself to over the past few weeks.

"I'm certain that he's doing everything that he can."

Gordon gave a reassuring smile after he spoke. Emily smiled back at him, knowing the lie that Gordon was not only telling her, but most likely to anyone who asked. Her mind debated back and forth on whether she should tell him the truth or even what she would say. She seemed to be lost in thought when she suddenly noticed Gordon stand up behind his desk and Lucius and Alfred rise up beside her. She stood up and watched as Gordon shook the other mens' hands. When he finally held out his hand towards her, Emily shook it but hesitated when it was time to let go.

"Did you find his body?"

"What?" She caught the Commissioner off guard. "Whose?"

Emily felt Alfred's hand on her shoulder and she was certain that he was sending her non-verbal profanity for even bringing up the subject. He was nervous - he had no idea what she was about to say.

"Doctor Bill Dravis," she finally replied. It was the name that came to her lips but not the one that she wanted to say.

"The director of the clinic where you worked? We were running an investigation on him," Gordon said, glancing from Emily to Alfred behind her. "The last I heard, he had gone missing."

"He was on the ship that exploded in the bay almost two months ago," she said.

Everyone knew about the explosion. It was all over the news. Broadcasters reported that it was mechanical error that caused a fire in the engine room and thus created the explosion. Reports were that no one was injured in the accident and no fatalities.

"Jonathan Crane was also on board," she added. "Except his was killed prior to the explosion to a gun shot wound."

Gordon looked anxiously at his closed door.

"There are only a handful of people in this city who know about that and they're trusted employees of mine," he said, keeping his voice low. "How do you know about this?"

"I was there."

* * *

A week after the ship explosion

It was quiet at night.

The only sound they could hear were some distant owls hooting in the darkness and the light waves splashing up onto the shore.

Batman looked over at Bill as he slept on his side, his arms tied up behind him; as they were every night. Instead, Batman worked on worming his wrists from the tight loops around them. The man who had bound them was obviously talented with various knots and it probably came in handy working around a boat. Batman's shoulder ached with each movement he made. It still hadn't healed properly from when Bill had set it. He needed to rest it and unfortunately, he wasn't in a place where it was possible. He was certain that Emily would be furious if she knew about his shoulder. At this point, he'd be pleased to endure Emily's wrath rather than sit inside a boat house all day long. He had to get out of there.

Finally, he managed to get one hand loose. He quickly pulled off the remaining rope from his wrist before turning to Bill beside him. The man moaned as his sleep was disturbed and he was soon awake. It took him a moment to realize that Batman was untying his wrists and soon, Bill was free.

Bill went over to the door and pushed on, remembering that it was locked from the outside. He turned to Batman, ready to question him about their way out when he noticed him make his way toward the back wall. With a grunt, Batman used his elbow on his good arm and made a hole into the wood. The shed was old and the wood reflected the age and it simply shattered where he punched through. After a few more punches, the hole was large enough for them to crawl through.

Batman turned towards the treeline along the water and ran towards it. Bill followed behind, trying his best to keep up. He wasn't certain how far they had travelled, but his goal was just to not lose sight of Batman. In the darkness of the forest, it was easy and soon, he lost him. Bill ran some more until he was completely out of breath, and alone. He stood in the bush, glancing around him at the sounds he heard, his mind playing out the demons trying to haunt him. Letting out a nervous breath, he quickly turned and Batman was once again in front of him.

"I untied you and got you out of that shed. Now, I'd suggest that you don't follow me," Batman growled.

"We're miles away from Gotham in god-knows-where," Bill said. "We can work together to get back."

Batman leaned forward, and spoke darkly. "You and I, are not on good terms. It would be better for the both of us, if you'd just leave me alone."

He turned and walked away from Bill.

"I helped you," he insisted. "I helped you save Gotham! I saved Emily's life."

Batman suddenly stopped and turned.

"Don't you dare bring her into this," he snapped.

"I know that you hate me for what I did," Bill added. "I hate myself for even getting involved with it, but if it'll make you feel better, then just hit me! It'll make me feel better too."

Batman clenched his fists, the thought so inviting but then he winced as he moved his shoulder slightly. Bill noticed it even beneath the dark mask.

"Your shoulder is still dislocated, isn't it?" Bill asked. He didn't need to know the answer. "Let me set it for you. It's the least that I can do."

Batman shook his head.

"I'd need to take off my suit," Batman said, looking past Bill towards the old house where the family was sleeping. "And not here. We're too close."

Batman turned and began walking with Bill following behind. They walked for what seemed like an hour until they stopped to rest along the water. Batman finally took off the cowl for the first time in over a week. Bruce closed his eyes, feeling the wind blow through his hair again. With his good arm, he scooped up a handful of water and splashed his face, feeling the stubble on his cheeks that had grown in the past week.

He turned and silently gestured to Bill to help him pull the suit off from his torso. Bruce soon realized how immobile he was with only one good arm.

With his arm free, Bill helped to set his shoulder and popped the bone back into position. Bruce clenched his teeth and groaned as he felt the pain radiate in his shoulder, but it soon felt better than it was before.

Bill watched as Bruce leaned up against a tree that was behind him and sat down onto the dried leafy ground as he cradled his arm against his chest.

"I just need to rest for a short time and then we'll move on," Bruce said, the pain of the shoulder being set in place evident on his brow. He closed his eyes, and attempted to relax as Bill looked over his shoulder at the direction they had just come. They hadn't gone that far and just by following the waters edge, he'd easily find his way back.

When he looked back at Bruce, his eyes were shut and his head was slumped forward.

"Wayne?" he called out softly before walking towards him.

Bill crouched down and gently lifted his head, noticing that he was still breathing but had passed out. That alone had made his decision. He quickly stood up and headed back towards the house.

* * *

The revelation that Emily told Commissioner Gordon, nearly knocked the wind out of him. It was something he wouldn't believe if she hadn't told him. In fact, he found it hard to believe except for her describing the cause of death and locations of the gunshot wounds on Crane's body. He had long sat back down as she recounted details that he didn't know about.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and put his glasses down on his desk as she finished speaking.

"So the last place you saw Dr. Dravis and Batman, was on the bridge of the ship?"

Emily nodded silently.

"And they didn't leave the ship when you did?"

"No, they both stayed behind," Emily said softly, looking down at the ring on her finger.

Gordon sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"We didn't pick up any other bodies," he said, grimly "It's a possibility that they survived and are just currently missing, or that they were carried out to sea with a good chance that their bodies would never be recovered." He paused. "Unfortunately, with the time that has transpired since then, I'm not leaning towards survival."

Emily took a deep breath as Gordon spoke.

"But I thank you for telling me this information," he said, looking at Emily before he stood up once again.

Emily, Lucius and Alfred all stood up and made their way towards the door when Gordon walked up behind them.

"Miss Tucker," he began, catching her attention. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Emily swallowed hard. She knew that he wasn't referring to Bruce, but to finally hear those words from anyone, hit her hard. It made the situation all the more real. She nodded and turned to walk out the door with Lucius and Alfred silently walking around her towards the elevator.

She pinched her eyes shut, willing that door to open for them. She wanted to run. She couldn't breath.

Finally, the elevator opened and Emily cursed the demon that filled it with people at that moment. They rode it silently down to the car garage.

The moment Emily sat down in the car, the sob that she shoved down as she retold the story to Gordon was finally released. Alfred turned in the front seat and put out his hand towards her to which she gratefully took.

"I'll be all right," she told him through her tears and reminded herself of that fact.

* * *

When Bruce finally opened his eyes, he found himself feeling warm and smelled the distinct odour of motor oil. The sun was shining down in his eyes and it made waking up almost unbearable. He squinted against the offending light and tried to sit up. He was surprised when he found that one of his arms were tied up tightly to his chest. Bruce pushed himself up as best as he could to sit and saw a blanket covering an unfamiliar shirt and pants that he had on.

His mind tried to recall the events that brought him to his current place, but he couldn't figure it out. He was alone in the forest and a few feet from him, a small fire smoldered.

He was about to stand up when he saw a man walking towards him.

"Good, you're finally up," Bill said as he crouched down in front of Bruce and looked at him in the eyes. "And your pupils are looking much better."

"How long was I out for?"

Bill stood back up. "Just a few hours." He looked down at his watch. "It's 7 am."

Bill could see the questions swirling in the billionaire's mind as he tried to figure out what he missed.

"After you passed out, I snuck back to the house and found those clothes and boots in their garage," he said. "They looked crappy enough that they probably wouldn't miss them anyways."

Bruce quickly stood up and glanced towards the house.

"We should get moving," he told him. "They could find us here."

Bill smirked. "We walked a good two kilometres upstream early this morning."

"We did?"

"Actually I did," Bill said. "You had no choice but to come along and I'm sure that my muscles are going to be paying for it tomorrow."

Bruce crouched down next to the fire and held out his hands to warm them when it suddenly hit him.

"Where's my suit?"

"I buried it," Bill stated matter-of-factly. "I can help you find it later on if you'd ever want to get it back."

A small smile crept onto Bruce's face. "That was a good idea. Thank you."

Bill merely nodded as he watched Bruce stand back up and walk towards the water's edge. The smell of the ocean air blew onshore at them. Bill walked up and stood beside him.

"I haven't seen a boat, heard an engine or anything," Bill said. "We must be far from Gotham."

Bruce sighed and glanced at the backpack that Bill had laying against a tree. He grabbed the blanket that had been laying on him and tried his best to roll it up before shoving into the bag.

"What are you doing?"

Bruce looked over his shoulder at Bill.

"Going to Gotham."

"What?!" Bill croaked incredulously. "You're going to walk there?!"

With a hint of amusement, Bruce turned to Bill.

"I am," Bruce stated.


	22. Chapter 22

**Note:**

Oh wow! Thank you so much for the awesome reviews, comments and messages. Oh and the numerous readers who added the story and myself to their favourites lists - I am so humbled! Just those simple things gave me the push to go on. I hope that you'll enjoy this next chapter. The story is not close to being done, but I do know the direction that I'm going.

Please review!

* * *

**6 weeks after the explosion**

Bruce had gotten used to Bill's banter.

While Bruce preferred to walk in silence and kept his thoughts to himself, Bill would comment about what they would see, how he was feeling, what he'd love to eat at that particular moment and when they were going to stop next. Bruce had to admit that he enjoyed having company but at the same time, he just wanted to turn around and yell...

"Did you hear that?" Bill suddenly asked, just as Bruce stopped in his tracks.

The hair on his head was no longer perfectly combed and a dark shadow had grown over his face. Bill wasn't looking much better and both men had a layer of permanent mud on the bottom of their boots.

"A car," Bruce said softly, as he intently listened and peered through the thick brush.

"We must be near a road," Bill commented as both men began walking quickly towards the sound.

A store suddenly appeared on the side of the quiet mountain pass. Two cars were parked in front of it. A faint smell of hotdogs lingered in the air and both men heard the sound of a stomach growling. They were tired of eating whatever they'd find in the bush or catch from the rivers they'd pass.

"Oh thank God!" Bill stated as he leaned against a tree.

"I'm going to go in and see if I can find out where we are exactly," Bruce said, passing the backpack to Bill. "And maybe borrow their phone to call home."

Bill nodded while Bruce made his way towards the front door of the store.

He heard music coming from inside before he even opened the door. It creaked open and the clerk behind the desk glanced up at Bruce from behind his newspaper. A small television sat behind the desk and it softly played the sounds of a game show. Bruce walked up to the desk and was met with a long scrutinizing look from the clerk.

"How can I help you?"

"I was hoping that I could use your telephone," Bruce said.

The man glanced out the front window. "Payphone is out front."

"I don't have any money," Bruce told him with a shrug. "I was hoping that I could use yours."

"Sorry buddy," the man said. "Employees only."

Bruce sighed. "Can you at least tell me where I am?"

The man pointed to a map on the wall near the front door. Bruce smiled curtly to the man before walking towards it. He glanced back at the clerk and noticed that he hadn't taken his eyes off of Bruce. When Bruce caught his gaze, the clerk looked back at his newspaper. It was then that Bruce caught the headline on the front page of the Gotham Post - WAYNE TOWER EXPLOSION ROCKS FINANCIAL DISTRICT. That headline was enough to get his attention, and he tried to see if there were any photo's. Unfortunately, the clerk put the paper done as another customer came up to the counter. Bruce turned back to the map just as he heard a familiar voice.

"Afternoon Rob," the man said to the clerk before putting some items on the counter. "How's Mary doin' today?"

"She has her good days and her bad," Rob, the clerk told the man at the counter. "Today is a good day."

"That's good to hear Derek," Rob said as he rung in the items at the register. "I'm sure that boy of yours there can be a handful."

Bruce glanced over and instantly recognized the young boy he had met in the shed standing at the counter with his father. His eyes barely came up to the edge of the counter.

"Ah, Thomas is more helpful than a handful," Derek said, before glancing over at Bruce.

Bruce looked back up at the map, deciphering their next direction and over hearing the conversation. The men said barely another word before Bruce heard footsteps coming in his direction.

"Excuse me," Derek said, catching Bruce's attention. He held out a quarter in his hand. "Here's a quarter for that phone call you were wantin' to make. Are you new to the area?"

"Just passing through," Bruce said, taking the quarter.

Derek nodded and smiled before giving a quick glance to Rob at the counter. The clerk was busy getting back into his newspaper. "Well, know that there are some of us that are more generous to strangers than others around here."

"I appreciate it, thank you," Bruce said. Derek was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.

"You look quite familiar to me," Derek said. "Have we met before?"

Bruce smiled.

"I'd doubt it," he told him. "I just have that type of face."

Derek nodded, seeming to believe Bruce's word.

"Well, have a good day."

"You too," Bruce said, as Derek opened the door to allow his boy to pass through first before following after him.

When the door closed, Bruce saw it - the newspaper rack with the newest edition of the Gotham Times holding the same paper that the clerk had been reading. Other headlines on the front page included the deaths of more people at the hand of Joker, who was demanding for the Batman. He quickly skimmed through it, becoming angry as he read it. His eyes turned their attention back to the rack as a tabloid magazine literally screamed his name as the words WAYNE WALKS OUT ON WIFE-TO-BE were written in bold lettering with a grainy candid image of a pregnant Emily on the front page.

He sighed, realizing for the first time that she was all right. His mind flashed back to the last time he had seen her in that beautiful dress and how she had been complaining earlier about it being too tight around her. Now, if he hadn't recognized her face, he wouldn't have believed that the woman on the page was Emily. As he read further, and discovered that she had been in Wayne Tower at the time of the explosion, he was concerned.

"If you read them, you're going to buy them and I know that you're unable to pay so I'd suggest that you put them back," Rob called out from behind the front desk.

Glaring at the clerk, Bruce shoved them back into the rack before opening the front door and walking back out to find Bill in the bush.

Bill flooded him with questions, especially since he had seen the same man who had held them captive in a shed. Bruce didn't answer but quickly grabbed the pack from Bill and began walking back into the bush.

"Hey Bruce!" Bill exclaimed, catching up with Bruce. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Emily is alive and I need to get back to Gotham," he said, his dark mask falling over his face once again. "She may be in danger."

Bill rushed forward and stepped in front of Bruce. "I thought you were going to try to make a phone call."

Bruce ignored the quarter that was in his pocket.

"I can't."

"What? Why not?"

"I'll explain later," he said curtly. "I need to get back to Gotham."

Bill shook his head and scoffed before walking past Bruce and made his way towards the store. "Fine then, I'll make the call and get us the hell out of here. At least it'll save me from this damn walking and your attitude."

Bruce turned and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. Bruce felt Bill struggle and even begin to fight back and before long, Bruce had him pinned up against a tree, his forearm resting across his neck.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? Don't you want to go home!?" Bill exclaimed, pushing against Bruce's forearm.

"I want nothing more than to get home," Bruce growled, softly. "But I'm not going to put Emily in danger by calling her."

Bruce saw confusion cross Bill's features. He explained the news that he had read briefly and the headlines that he had read.

"If anyone else knows that I'm alive, Emily could be in danger," Bruce said softly, as he released Bill from against the tree. "Someone could be listening to the phone lines. Besides, when you disappeared, you were being investigated by Gotham police. News will travel fast that you survived the explosion and chances are, if any of Crane's associates hear of it, you'll be dead before you step foot within city limits."

Bill visibly paled as he hadn't considered the repercussions of working with Crane would entail. He cleared his throat as it had suddenly gone dry. He followed Bruce and walked back into the bush.

The men continued their silent walk towards Gotham when Bill suddenly spoke up.

"You do know that Emily is going to kill you for not calling her to say that you're all right."

"Probably," Bruce stated with a smirk.

"And I wont be coming to your defence when that happens."

Bruce chuckled.

* * *

**Present day**

"Damn these heels," Emily cursed as she let out a sigh while standing up. She looked at herself in the mirror just as Alfred walked into the room. A smile was on his face, indicating that he had indeed heard her complaint prior to walking in. He carried a dressy jacket and placed it onto the bed before catching a glimpse of Emily's reflection in the mirror. She wore a dark blue satin sleeveless dress that fell to her knees. It was simple, but still classy enough to wear to the party thrown by one of the Wayne Enterprises board member at the art gallery - the event that she had been dreading going to.

Going alone, she felt awkward and out of place. She knew that the only reason that she had been invited was because Bruce had brought her name forward as a new board member. After some gentle prodding from Lucius and Alfred, she had agreed to come along.

"You do look lovely, my dear."

Emily scoffed.

"My feet are going to be paying for this later on tonight," she groaned.

"I'll be certain to have some tea and a warm fire going for you for when you return."

Emily sighed, looking at Alfred by way of the mirror.

"You're making me want to stay home now," she said, with a smile.

Alfred chuckled before picking up the jacket from the bed and walked towards her.

"It's been raining off and on this evening and they're calling for sleet overnight tonight," Alfred said, as he helped her put on the coat. "I do wish that you'd allow me to drive you downtown."

Emily smiled at Alfred and put her hand on his shoulder. "I think that I can handle driving into the city and back."

He returned the smile. "I know, but you can't stop me from worrying about you. After all, you're not just looking after yourself anymore."

She gently pulled her curled hair out from inside the collar of the coat and nodded with a smile.

"And Bruce taught me well."

"Yes, he did," Alfred agreed.

With a sigh, Emily picked up her clutch. "I should get going. Sooner I go, the sooner I'll be back."

Alfred nodded and watched her go out the door.

* * *

Bruce had nearly forgotten how it was to live off of barely anything. It had been years since he travelled the world and found himself climbing a frigid mountain in Tibet. As he walked through the cold downpour, he could feel his teeth chattering. His feet were soaked through days ago and his fingers were so cold. The only thing that kept him moving was seeing the lights of Gotham in the distance. They bypassed those lights and headed straight for Wayne Manor.

Bill said nothing beside Bruce and hadn't been eating or saying much for the past few days. What concerned him more was the hard coughing that Bill was doing as he walked beside him. His face appeared pale, even in the darkness.

With a loud thump, Bill's legs suddenly collapsed under him. With a quick movement, Bruce turned and grabbed ahold of the man by his arm, but he too was brought down to the slippery, muddy ground.

"Bill," Bruce groaned as he knelt in the mud beside the sickly man. Bill simply rolled over and went into a coughing fit as he attempting to get back onto his feet.

"I'm all right," Bill managed to gasp out between coughs. Finally, the coughing subsided and he sighed, as he leaned up against a tree. "I must have tripped over something."

Bruce looked at Bill, the man who he had come to regard as a friend over those long days of walking. Sometimes Bruce couldn't even believe that he would even consider Bill as anything but an ass.

He reached forward and put his hand to Bill's head. Bruce instantly felt the heat radiate off of Bill's skin. Bill sighed, knowing exactly what Bruce was aware of.

Bruce looked in the direction towards Wayne Manor before wrapping his arm around Bill's torso and pulled him to his feet.

"What are you doing?!" Bill exclaimed.

"I'm going to get us back home. You need to see a doctor," Bruce replied, as Bill began to chuckle.

"I am a doctor."

"A doctor that is not delirious from a fever."

Bill's laughter subsided.

"You seriously think that you're going to carry me the rest of the way?"

Bruce shook his head. "No, I'm going to help you walk it."

* * *

Emily never liked art class back in high school and now she knew why. It all looked the same to her. She'd watch people stand and stare at a painting and analyze the crap out of it - the meaning behind it, the emotion it was trying to portray or a story. Her answers were always straight forward and to the point. Emily knew the colours that were used and maybe could guess what type of paint they used, but beyond that, she was clueless. Her idea of painting was something she'd use with a roller and brush.

She ended up walking through the art gallery, glancing at the various paintings and watching as people would closely examine the art. Emily looked down at her watch and groaned inwardly to find that only thirty-five minutes had passed since she had arrived. A man carrying a platter of fluted glasses walked by her and stopped, promising to return with a glass of some sort of non-alcoholic sparkling champagne.

"You made it."

Emily turned at the familiar voice and was even more relieved to see the face.

"I promised you, Mr. Fox, that I would be here," she reminded him.

"Yes you did," he said with a smile before glancing around the room at the other board members as they drank, chatted and looked at the artwork around them. "So, how are you enjoying the evening?"

"It's...interesting," she replied, sporting a smile. "An older gentleman made my day when he asked if I was overdue. The colour nearly drained from his face when I told him that I still had two months to go. I think I should have just asked him what he was talking about and told him that I wasn't pregnant."

Lucius chuckled before he took a drink from his glass.

"Be careful what you say to these people, even with sarcasm," Lucius told her. "Some of them will take what you say as truth and the next thing you'll know, you'll find it on the cover of a magazine."

Emily shook her head. "I'll try to remember that."

The server returned and handed Emily the glass to which she thanked him for. Just then, one of the board members approached Emily and Lucius.

"It's so good to see you again, Dr. Tucker," the man said, his voice slurring slightly. "It's unfortunate that Mr. Wayne wasn't able to attend."

Emily continued to smile, despite the mention of Bruce's name.

"Where has he been, anyways?"

The ears of more than a few board members heard the question and were obviously eager for an answer, as their eyes all turned towards her.

Emily froze. It had been a while since she had to answer that question as everyone assumed that he had run off with someone else. But to hear it from Emily herself, was a completely different story.

"I honestly don't know," she answered, softly. "I haven't heard from him in a while, but I assume he is off doing whatever he needs to do."

Those who were listening nodded their heads and a few whispered among themselves.

"He did this once before," another board member spoke. "When he had disappeared for those seven years with no word from him. Mr. Pennyworth wasn't even aware of his whereabouts. If he did it once, chances are he'd do it again."

"I know Mr. Wayne and I doubt that he'd be the type of man to suddenly leave someone who is pregnant with his child," Lucius suddenly chimed in.

"If he got cold feet or didn't want to handle the responsibility, I'm certain that he would."

Emily could feel her heart begin to beat faster. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying anything she'd later regret. It must have been obvious to Lucius beside her, as she felt him put his hand on her shoulder.

"We all know the lifestyle that Wayne leads. We don't know much about you, Dr. Tucker," the same board member added, looking at Emily. "If these rumours are true, that baby may not even be his."

"Excuse me!?" Emily suddenly exclaimed and visibly offended.

"Now, hold on a second," Lucius added. "That is uncalled for."

"We don't know who Emily is beyond the fact that Wayne Enterprises is financing a project to which she will benefit from," the board member said. "Perhaps this was all part of her plan to become successful in a world where she never could be."

"So, you're telling me that I sought out Bruce, got myself knocked up by some other jerk in the city, burned down my place of employment all for the fun of it?" She laughed incredulously as she spoke. "You're either crazy to think this crap up or I'm stupid for thinking that it was a good idea to come out tonight."

She turned and made her way towards the exit of the particular display room they were in when she noticed Lucius and a few board members were trying to get her attention. It wasn't until she felt someone gently take her arm that she stopped.

Emily was angry and hurt and the last thing she wanted was for anyone to see it on her face.

"Ignore him."

She turned to the voice and saw the gentle face of Mr. Fredericks from the board.

"They've been waiting for the day when there wasn't a Wayne on the board to control it and although you're not officially Mr. Wayne's wife, they still see you as a representative of his. They're trying to scare you away from challenging the board."

Emily shook her head and let out a chuckle.

"By insulting me? That's just simply below the belt."

Fredericks winced and nodded.

"The original idea was to persuade you and Mr. Fox to support the notion to declare Bruce as dead," Fredericks told them. He glanced back to the half intoxicated board member. "Except some of them aren't capable of holding their liquor or their tongue as easily."

He turned back to Emily.

"I was there years ago when they reluctantly declared Bruce as dead only to have him return," Fredericks said. "I don't want to make a mistake like that again unless it is something that you believe we should do. I'd rather not force you into something of this nature."

Emily smiled weakly.

"It's hard to declare someone as dead when you haven't seen them."

Fredericks nodded. "Of course. But I should inform you that the board may go ahead with declaring Bruce as dead to liquidate his shares once again." He paused, looking down at Emily's stomach and lowered his voice. "I can arrange it with Mr. Pennyworth as his benefactor so that Bruce's child would inherit the majority shares once he or she turns of age. That way, the company would always be in the hands of a Wayne."

Emily turned to Lucius who had a smile on his face and simply nodded.

"What do I have to do?"

Fredericks smiled, and shook her hand. "I'll arrange with a lawyer to get things moving. It shouldn't be too much of a problem but it will certainly throw some members of the board for a loop."

* * *

Alfred hummed to himself as he tossed another piece of wood onto the fire. It cracked and sizzled for a moment. He grabbed the poker and pushed it in further, moving the kindling around with it as it suddenly burned brighter.

He turned back to the couch and saw the black and white cat curled up on a blanket.

Alfred never thought of himself as an animal lover, but Freddie's presence in the manor had been a welcomed one. The cat would go for days without being seen except for when there was food involved. Alfred would run into him as he went about his day in Wayne Manor. He'd bend over and stroke the cat before it would run off. It wasn't until he found dead mice turning up on the kitchen floor by the back door that he appreciated Freddie. Alfred was aware that Wayne Manor had the odd mouse roaming the rooms, but now having a cat within the home would soon eliminate the problem.

Alfred sat down on the couch and picked up the book beside him with one hand and ran his hand over Freddie's head and ears with the other. He smiled as he heard the cat begin to purr beside him.

Alfred was so captivated by what he was reading that a buzzing sound coming from the kitchen startled him. It was the intercom from the front gate.

He pushed himself up and made his way to the kitchen, slightly concerned why Emily would be pressing the intercom from the front gate to allow herself back onto the grounds when she already knew the code.

Whomever was pressing the intercom pressed it over and over, almost to the point where it became aggravating. If it were a couple of teenagers pulling a prank, they had to be super gutsy to do it on a raining night.

"I'm coming," Alfred mumbled under his breath as he reached the intercom and pressed the talk button.

"Wayne Manor," he drawled. "Who is there?"

The voice that he never thought he'd hear again, flooded into the kitchen. Without hesitation, Alfred pressed a control which opened the gate before rushing towards the front door. He reached for the umbrella and quickly put on his rubber boots. Alfred barely had his coat over his shoulders when he pushed the front door open and ran out into the rain.

He saw the silhouette of two men walking towards him up the lane-way. Alfred barely recognized Bruce when the light of Wayne manor reflected off his face. A beard had grown over his cheeks and face and his hair was longer. Alfred quickly opened the umbrella, holding it over them.

"It's good to have you home, sir," Alfred said with a smile.

A familiar smile appeared within the beard as Bruce took a step forward and surprised even Alfred when he put his arms around him.

"It's good to be home."

* * *

Alfred had taken the increased security seriously when it came to ensuring that the front gate was always closed. When Emily drove onto the property to find that it was already open, she was concerned.

She glanced at the front door, and the lights that were on within Wayne Manor and noticed that nothing else looked out of the ordinary. Emily stopped the car by the garage and dodged the raindrops as she quickly made her way to the side kitchen door and quickly unlocked it. She anticipated turning off the alarm, but found that it too, was turned off.

The kitchen was empty and the house appeared to be silent. Slowly and cautiously, she walked down the hallway. Emily tried her best to keep her shoes from making too much sound on the marble floors. As she made her way towards the foyer, she suddenly gasped as Freddie came running in front of her, nearly causing her to trip.

"Freddie!" she exclaimed. "What has gotten into you?"

The cat paused, hearing his name being called and slowly turned to follow Emily.

She walked towards the front entrance and took off her wet coat and then finally sat down beside her clutch to take off her shoes. Freddie had taken this opportunity to slink around her legs, purring for some affection. Emily stroked his back as she took off her heels and sighed.

"What a night, huh Freddie? Where's Alfred at?"

The cat simply purred in response, wrapping his tail around her leg as he walked between them. She watched as Freddie suddenly perked his ears up before running towards the stairs, leaving Emily sitting by the door alone. His behaviour concerned her as she heard faint footsteps coming from behind her. The stride between the steps sounded different than Alfred's. Feeling her heart begin to beat wildly, she casually reached for her clutch and pulled out a switch blade that she had stuffed into it prior to heading into the city. She carefully flipped it open before awkwardly reaching to the floor to pick up her shoes. With a sigh, she finally stood up when her senses realized that those footsteps had stopped. Her body tensed as she quickly turned, the knife in hand.

The man quickly leaned back, out of the range of the knife and grabbed her wrist. Emily was ready to fight back, but the eyes that looked back at caused her to gasp. The knife simply fell to the floor as well as her shoes from the other hand.

"Bruce?"


	23. Chapter 23

**Wow! Thank you so much for the reviews and messages! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It took me a while to pump out - lots of interruptions and lack of spare time. I hope that the next few chapters wont take as long as this.**

* * *

Emily couldn't breath. It was as though she had forgotten how to. A man, with the same eyes, same voice and now, same smile as Bruce, stood a mere few feet in front of her. Every rational thought in her mind told her that this couldn't be him. Emily was almost certain that she was dreaming. She couldn't take her eyes off of him and she appeared to be frozen as she stood transfixed on him.

Bruce smiled at her as he ran a calloused hand through his dirty hair, somewhat worried that she hadn't said anything beyond his name. Bruce took a step towards her, eager to wrap his arms around her as he had dreamed for weeks but was concerned when Emily suddenly took a step back away from him. She silently shook her head as she put a hand to her chest.

"Do you need to sit down?" he asked, concerned that she may faint. He quickly glanced down at her pregnant stomach, all the more reason for him to be concerned. He decided to not give her the option to say no. "Emily, you should sit down."

He reached out a hand towards Emily. She simply stared at it. This was real.

Every possible emotion coursed through Emily at high speed; relief, anger, confusion, happiness, shock - but they never stayed too long before it was replaced with another emotion.

Bruce took another tentative step towards her, knowing full well that she would most likely refuse his assistance.

"Emily..."

His words were cut off with a firm crack against his cheek as she slapped him. The sound echoed off the walls around them. The action shocked Bruce as much as it surprised Emily. Tears filled her eyes as she took a step forward and placed her hands on his bearded face.

She said nothing, but looked into his eyes as he slowly put his arms around her.

Within an instant, her arms wrapped around his neck and she held him tightly. Emily ignored the raw stench that seemed to come from Bruce. She didn't care. He could have been covered in pig manure and she still wouldn't let him go.

Bruce revelled in her touch that he had missed so much. He turned his head, inhaling the fresh scent of her hair before sighing.

"I love you so much," she suddenly said softly into his ear before she sniffed, evidence that she was crying on his shoulder.

Bruce smirked and hugged her closer to him. "I love you too. I missed you."

Emily loosened her grip on Bruce and turned to look at him. She smiled, tears on her cheeks.

Without exchanging anymore words, Bruce reached forward and brushed the tears off of her face before leaning towards her, pressing his lips to hers. Despite the roughness of the stubble brushing her face, Emily melted in his arms. She reached up and ran her hands through his hair.

Bruce revelled in the softness of Emily's lips and the passion of her kiss. It was so familiar to him and the same dream that haunted him for weeks was now a reality.

Emily broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his, not wanting to let go of him.

"Where were you?"

She heard him sigh.

"That, is a long story," he said. "But believe me, I came home as quickly as I could."

Bruce glanced down at her pregnant stomach between them and smiled. He gently placed his right hand on her stomach, feeling the hard mass beneath her skin.

"And everything," he began, gesturing to the unborn baby, "is all right?"

Emily nodded

"Everything is fine," she told him with a smile. "I have about eight weeks left."

Bruce sighed, and shook his head in disbelief.

"I'm so sorry for not coming home to you both sooner."

"Better late than never," Emily added, as Bruce looked back at her.

The sound of someone clearing their throat echoed from behind them. Emily turned to see Alfred standing near the entrance to the room, a smile on his face to see the exchange in front of him. Neither Bruce or Emily knew how long Alfred had been watching but it was obvious on his face that it had been for a short time.

"I'm sorry to interrupt sir," Alfred said, looking from Bruce to Emily. "But I'm in need of Emily's medical expertise in treating Dr. Dravis."

"Bill?" Emily turned to Bruce, somewhat curious and feeling that anger rise up within her again. "Bill's here?"

"I brought him home," Bruce explained, which elicited a scoff from Emily.

"The man tried to kill me and was willing to take your child as his own!"

"He saved my life and has helped me out quite a bit over the weeks," Bruce countered. "The least that I could do was help him out."

Bruce could see that familiar darkness in Emily's eyes as she sighed.

"Bill is sick. He's in the den. I need you to take a look at him."

* * *

Emily had helped countless people in her life but none of them after they held a gun to her head with plans on killing her. Bruce watched silently, with his arms crossed as Emily listened to Bill's lungs with her stethoscope. The only sound that could be heard was the soft crackling of the kindling in the large fireplace, warming the room. She perched herself on the edge of the couch beside Bill's sleeping form and gently moved the chest piece to various areas of his chest. The man had fallen asleep in the midst of his exhaustion and high fever.

Emily was thankful that the man was asleep as it would have made the entire situation all the more uncomfortable.

"How long has he been like this?"

"A couple of days," Bruce replied. "It's only gotten worse in the past day or so."

"It sounds like he has bad pneumonia in both lungs," she stated. "He's probably a little dehydrated as well. He needs to be admitted to a hospital where he can get proper treatment."

Bruce shook his head.

"He can't go to a hospital," Bruce told her.

"Bruce, I don't have any antibiotics here to help him. If you really want to owe him as you say you do, then the best option would be to send him to Dent Memorial."

"He wouldn't come out alive if I send him there," Bruce argued. "I imagine that there are many people in the city who would be wanting to kill him for what happened on that boat. I'm not going to give him a death sentence."

Emily sighed, putting her stethoscope back into her small bag before she pushed herself up to stand.

"Fine" she said defiantly. "I'll make a trip to the pharmacy that I usually deal with and have them make up a prescription under another name."

"I appreciate this, Emily," he said softly and sincerely. "Thank you."

His simple words seemed to extinguish the hostility that had built up within her while she had been examining Bill. He knew her too well.

Her expression softened.

"You owe me one."

Bruce smiled as Alfred appeared at the door, gaining Bruce's attention.

"Sir, the guest room is prepared for Dr. Dravis," he said, as Bruce managed to get a drowsy Bill to his feet and helped him out of the room and towards the steps.

Alfred was about to follow Bruce when he noticed Emily picking up her coat and proceeded to put it on.

"My dear, where are you off to?"

"I'm just going to do a quick run into town to pick up a prescription for Dr. Dravis," she said, pulling her arms through the sleeves.

Alfred shook his head.

"Tell me where, and I'll get them for you."

He could see Emily begin to protest the suggestion but he quickly cut her off.

"Go spend some time with Master Bruce," he told her. "He's probably been missing you as much as you have missed him."

* * *

After calling in the prescription for Alfred to pick up, and checking in on Bill, Emily walked into the master bedroom. It was obvious that Bruce was in the shower. He had left the door open and the bedroom was getting stuffy from the warm air.

Emily was tired. She was ready to change out of the dress and into her pajamas. She soon found her t-shirt and flannel pj bottoms before making her way into the bathroom just as the water turned off.

"I hope you're smelling better," she joked as she walked past the shower and grabbed her toothbrush.

She heard Bruce chuckle.

"Are you saying that I stunk?"

"Lets just say that you didn't smell like a 'fresh out of the Kevlar and been behind the cowl all night' kind of smell," she stated with a smile. "It was worse, much worse."

She turned on the faucet and began to brush her teeth.

"But I still love you," she mumbled with the toothbrush in her mouth. "Even if you smell like some unearthly stench."

Bruce opened the glass door of the shower and reached for the towel hanging just outside the door before stepping out and wrapping it around himself.

Emily was aware that he had stepped out of the shower but due to the mirror being fogged up, she didn't notice Bruce come up behind her. She continued to brush her teeth until she suddenly felt a cool wetness on her back. She gasped as Bruce wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Oh my God! Bruce!" Emily exclaimed, toothpaste running out of her mouth as she dropped her toothbrush onto the floor. "You're wet and cold!"

"Yes, but do I smell better?"

He said the words right into her ear, tickling them as he spoke.

Emily could hear him laughing from behind her as he let her go. She spit the remnants of toothpaste into the sink before she bent over and picked up her toothbrush.

"Ugh," she said as she turned, seeing him walk back into the bedroom.

She followed after him, feeling the wet t-shirt sticking to her back.

"That was just mean," she told him as she passed by him, while he searched through his dresser. She noticed that he had already shaved but his hair still fell low over his face.

"And your quip about me smelling horribly wasn't mean?"

"It was the truth," she replied as she pulled her now wet t-shirt over her head.

She reached for a tank top from the drawer when she noticed Bruce's eyes on her. Feeling somewhat self-conscious, she quickly pulled the tank top over her head before glancing back at him, realizing that he had already averted his gaze to pull out clothing.

Emily made her way towards the bed and pulled back the blankets before climbing beneath them. She turned to Bruce just as he dropped the towel to the floor and proceeded to get dressed. She felt her heart jump. It had been far too long and Emily was keenly aware of how the pregnancy hormones were affecting her libido. She curled her toes as he bent over to pick up the wet towel off the floor and headed back to the bathroom to hang it.

"I was considering going down to the cave," he began as he made his way to the bed and proceeded to climb in beside Emily. "But I'd be no good as Batman if I don't catch up on my rest."

Bruce laid down and stretched out, feeling the softness of the Egyptian cotton sheets on his skin. He turned to Emily who had now made her way up beside him, an unusual hunger in her eyes that he hadn't seen in a while. He smiled, recognizing it.

Emily put her head down on his shoulder and ran her hand over his bare chest.

"I can't wait to see the faces of those board members when they see that you're back," she said, eyeing his flesh beneath her fingers. "Then all those rumours about whether the baby is yours will stop and we wont even have to deal with the issue of declaring you dead."

Emily leaned forward and placed feather-light kisses on his neck. Bruce closed his eyes momentarily, enjoying the sensation that Emily sent through his body when his mind betrayed him and brought him back to her last comment. His eyes opened.

"The board was going to declare me dead?"

Emily simply nodded, as she continued to kiss his neck and gave a soft 'mm hmm' by his ear. After a few seconds, she stopped and looked at Bruce.

"What's wrong?"

"You have to go ahead and declare me dead."

Emily sat up and turned to Bruce. "What?! Why?!"

"The Joker was targeting me," Bruce said, looking up at her. "Chances are, if he discovers that I'm here and alive, he'll target me again."

Bruce watched as Emily turned away from him shaking her head, knowing full well that it wasn't something she was keen on doing.

"I don't want him to come after you or Alfred. If the world thinks that I'm dead, then I can go after him as Batman without worrying about your safety," he added.

Emily sighed and shook her head.

"I don't like the idea of pretending that you're dead," she said softly. "I lived out that life for months and it was a living hell."

"But the difference is that, I'm not dead."

"So what are you going to do? Hang out in Wayne Manor all day long?"

Bruce nodded.

"If I have to, until Joker is in jail."

Emily scoffed. "And what if that never happens?"

Bruce reached forward and ran his hand over Emily's back.

"It'll happen. It'll have to happen."

Emily laid back down and turned on her side, facing Bruce. She watched his face in the darkness as he stared up at the ceiling, obviously in deep thought. She reached forward and ran her hand over his chest again, stopping over his heart.

"You know, I will support any decision you want to make on this," she said softly. Bruce picked up her hand from his chest and brought it to his lips, kissing it.

"Even if you don't like it?"

"You know that I don't."

Bruce smiled and rolled over to face Emily. He pulled his body closer to her and reached with his free hand for her face before meeting her lips with his.

* * *

Bill slowly opened his eyes allowing them to adjust to the light. He turned and saw the side table with a glass of water waiting for him. He pushed himself up to sit before reaching for it. Memories of the past few days came back to him as he drank. He remembered Bruce partially dragging him through the bush. He remembered a gentleman with a thick, English accent and noticed in his stupor that he referred to Bruce as Sir. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why, but now he did.

"You're up."

Bill turned to the partially opened door and saw Bruce standing there. He pushed the door open and walked towards the bed.

"How do you feel?"

"Better," Bill replied. "Thank you."

Bruce watched as Bill glanced at the medication on the table beside him.

"You have pneumonia," Bruce told him. "You're on an antibiotic for it. Your fever broke this morning. If you're hungry, I can have something made for you."

"Why are you doing this?" Bill suddenly asked. "If it's because I know, about you and Batman, I can assure you that I wont tell anyone."

Bruce shook his head.

"It's not that," he told him. "This has nothing to do with Batman. You saved my life and in turn you changed the lives of not only Emily, but also my child who because of you, will have a Father. I know what it would be like to grow up without a parent and I owe you a lot more than what I would ever be I'm able to offer."

Bill sat, stunned. He was about to speak when there was a knock at the door. Both men turned towards it and saw Emily standing there. She didn't even regard Bill but simply looked to Bruce.

"Mr. Fox is here," she told him. "He got the message this morning. He's waiting for you in the study and is eager to see you now that you're alive."

To Bruce's surprise, she then turned to Bill. "There is some food prepared downstairs in the kitchen, if you're up to it."

Bill looked just as shocked, and glanced from Bruce to Emily before nodding.

"Great!" Bruce said. "If you'll excuse me. Emily, could you show Bill the way to the kitchen?"

Bruce could see through the smile that she gave him and saw the deathly glare behind it.

"Sure," she said. "I'm heading that way anyways."

Emily backed up as Bruce slid past her and out the door. She waited as Bill stood up. She noticed that Bill was wearing Bruce's clothing. Both the shirt and pants she recognized.

She watched as Bill stood up.

"Are you all right?"

He nodded. "I think I just need to eat."

Bill followed her out of the room and down the hallway towards the staircase. Silence followed them as Bill tried to think of the best way to phrase his words.

"You're looking good," he told her, wincing a bit at his choice of words. "Your pregnancy, I mean."

Emily smiled. "Thank you."

"How many more weeks?"

"About eight or so."

Bill nodded as they reached the stairs. He paused at the top. Emily took three steps before she realized that Bill was no longer next to her. She stopped and looked back up at him.

"Emily, I'm so sorry," he said, the conviction and sincerity evident in his voice. "For everything that happened on the boat, for how I had been acting for months; it wasn't me. I had a few days of detox after the accident and at that moment, it was the worst feeling of my life. After I came out of it, and I had a chance to get to know Bruce, I felt more and more horrible for what I did to you, or what I could have done to you."

Bill paused, looking at the grandeur of Wayne Manor around them and the large chandelier that hung over the large staircase where they stood.

"It became so much more evident to me when I was alone with Bruce for all those weeks, that you really are perfect for him," he said.

Emily walked back up those three steps to Bill.

"I appreciate the apology," she began, her voice soft. "But this is something that is not so easy to forget. You just can't forget a gun being aimed at you by someone that you trusted. The only reason that you're here and are being treated with medication for your pneumonia that I prescribed for you, is because Bruce vouched for you."

She turned and headed back down the steps, with Bill following behind.

* * *

A month later...

Welcome to GCN Nightly News. This is News at Eleven. These are the stories that we are following tonight - The new interim Mayor of Gotham, Mr. Gilmore is looking to solidify his position as he's decided to run for Mayor in the next election. Security downtown is still at a high level following the explosion at the east side metro rail. But first, our breaking news: another Batman sighting. This would be the third time this month that the caped crusader has been spotted. After weeks of speculation as to whether he was alive, it can be confirmed that the Batman has returned. Eyewitness accounts from the explosion earlier tonight reveal that the Caped Crusader was seen attempting to disarm some of the arsonists. Once again, Commissioner Gordon has been tight-lipped regarding whether or not his Major Crimes Unit is working with Batman and their plans to finally take down Joker off our streets.

* * *

Emily rolled over and opened her eyes. She groaned, realizing that the reason why she woke was because she had to go to the bathroom, again. She walked through the darkness to the bathroom and closed the door behind her before turning on the light.

When she was on her way back to bed, she paused when she noticed that Bruce's side of the bed was empty. In fact, it didn't even look like he had even been there.

She glanced at the clock and noted the time - 3:06am.

Somewhat concerned as to why Bruce was so late in coming home, she made her way through the quiet house and to the piano. Emily gently pressed the awkward three chord pattern and paused as the passage opened against the wall. Carefully, she slipped through the doorway and she soon found herself walking on the cool, cave floor. Her breath was visible and she immediately wished she had grabbed a sweater before making her way down to the cave.

Emily was about to speak, when she suddenly heard male voices coming from ahead. The roar of the waterfall muffled their words, but she could distinctly hear three different voices.

It wasn't until she came around a rocky corner that she saw Bruce, with his bare back towards Bill as the doctor proceeded to stitch up a rather nasty looking gash along Bruce's shoulder. It was Alfred, holding an ice pack to Bruce's other shoulder who saw her first.

"Miss Emily," he said. "You shouldn't be down here."

"Alfred, I'm fine," she stated, firmly, as she walked towards them. "What's going on? What the hell happened?"

The tone in her voice not only caused Bruce to wince. Bill didn't want to answer. He had seen her wrath when she was upset and he didn't want to face the brunt of it. Finally, Bruce answered.

"It was just an explosion that I got caught in," he told her. "I have a first degree burn on one shoulder.

"What? Why didn't anyone wake me?"

It took a moment before anyone answered.

"It was my suggestion to Alfred that he should wake Bill rather than you," Bruce said, flatly.

She let that sink in as she looked over at the wound that Bill was stitching.

"Were you at least planning on telling me that you came home with a laceration and a burn?"

Bruce paused, a little longer than he should have.

"I would."

Emily scoffed. "So what would have to happen to you before you'd wake me? Do you need to lose a limb?"

"You see, this is why I didn't want to wake you," Bruce said, becoming annoyed. "You've become overly emotional to situations like this where the injuries are minor."

Alfred winced inwardly at Bruce's comment.

"Emotional?!" Emily asked.

"Not good," Bill whispered under his breath.

"You think that I've been emotional?"

"I didn't say emotional," Bruce replied.

"You said emotional. Alfred, he said I was emotional, right?"

Alfred held up his hands in surrender, and said nothing.

"Well, maybe I am emotional," she stated. "But if I came home at night covered in bruises and stitches, you'd be emotional too!"

Without saying another word, or allowing Bruce to say anything more, she made her way back to the lift. When she finally stood within the lift, she paused as she felt a tightness spread across her stomach. It caught her off guard and she put her hand to her stomach, breathing lightly as it passed.

Damn Braxton-Hicks, she cursed mentally.

Behind her, Bruce had quickly made his way to the lift in order to catch up with her. He noticed her pause.

"Em? Are you all right?"

She turned to him as the sensation subsided and smiled weakly. "I'm fine. Certainly not emotional."

Bruce sighed.

"Emily, you know that I didn't mean anything by it," he said. "I don't want to cause you extra stress by having to deal with me at night when I know that you're exhausted during the day."

Her eyes travelled to the bruises on his chest and the partially sutured laceration on his shoulder. She reached up and kissed him on the lips. She sighed as she broke the kiss.

"Don't stay up too late. You know that I don't sleep well when you're not next to me."

A smile pulled at Bruce's lips as the lift began to travel back up to Wayne Manor.

* * *

The next morning...

Bruce leaned on the counter.

"So, you know what you're going to say to the board?"

Emily rolled her eyes and nodded. She sat at on a barstool across from him as Bill placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. He had been making parts of the meals lately and it was a welcome assistance to Alfred.

Emily took a quick gulp of her orange juice before speaking.

"Bruce, we've been over this for a good week now. I've got this memorized backwards."

Emily glanced over at the man attending to the stove.

"Bill, tell him."

As though on command, Bill nudged Bruce.

"She's got it memorized, Bruce."

A smile came to Bruce's face. He watched as Alfred came into the room, dressed with a warm coat and car keys in hand, gesturing that the Rolls was ready to go. But Bruce decided he wasn't done quizzing her. That morning meeting with the board was so important that he wouldn't stop asking her questions until she was buckled into the car.

"Do you have the paperwork that Mr. Fox had prepared?"

Emily paused mid-bite and cursed with her mouth full before she awkwardly pushed herself up from the table and left the room.

With a smile, Alfred turned to Bruce.

"It'll all work out, Sir," he said. "Mr. Fox arranged it with the best lawyer that Wayne Enterprises has ever used so the transfer of your shares to the child's trust fund shouldn't be an issue and putting Miss Tucker on the board should be a breeze. I'm certain it'll throw more than a few board members for a loop."

Emily walked back in, slightly out of breath with paperwork in hand.

"Double check it to make sure everything is signed and dated," she told him, rubbing her back as she placed the documents on the counter in front of Bruce.

He quickly scanned them and then glanced up at her, noticing that she appeared uncomfortable.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Just this damn skirt and blouse are causing my stomach to itch like crazy and my back is killing me."

Bruce smirked, glancing back down at the documents.

"My will has been updated with a date prior to my alleged disappearance so this should work out smoothly," he told her, as he assembled the papers into a neat stack before placing them into a manilla envelope.

Emily smiled, letting out a tired sigh.

"It'll work out," Bruce assured her, before gently resting his hand on her stomach. "By the end of the day, I'll be declared dead and this little peanut will be the richest fetus in the world."

Emily chuckled before she gasped.

All three men turned to her, with concern evident on their faces. She couldn't so much as hiccup anymore without someone in the house acting like she was about to catch on fire.

"I'm fine! I think the kiddo just heard you and agrees."

"If you're not up to it today, the board meets weekly, so we can arrange for this next week," Bruce said, as Emily shook her head.

"I just want to get this done and over with," she admitted. "I'm not looking forward to going toe to toe with the board."

"You wont be alone," Bruce reminded her. "Mr. Fox will be in your corner and I'll be thinking of you today. Bill and I are going to be sparing."

Bruce leaned in and kissed her.

"Don't hurt him. He makes some pretty good bacon and eggs," she told him before walking out of the kitchen.

* * *

Emily sat at the long table near the furthest end. At the far end, Mr. Fox stood as he addressed the board, bringing the subject of declaring Bruce dead and the legal transfer of his shares to the baby's trust fund. More than a few pairs of eyes glanced in her direction as she sat in the chair.

Emily shifted in her chair a multiple times in an effort to get comfortable. It had gotten to the point where she had difficulty in paying attention to Lucius as he spoke. Her back was aching and it would ease up for a short time before bugging her once again.

The papers in front of her became forgotten when it dawned on her that they were beginning to come at regular intervals.

A sudden loud bang caught her attention as the door blew open with a puff of dust around it. Pops filled the room as board members screamed.

Emily quickly fell from her seat and ducked beneath the table, still confused as to what was going on. Finally, the gun shots ceased and the soft sounds of people sobbing could be heard.

Heavy footsteps came by and with the threat of being shot, she came out from beneath the table. Around the room, the other board members were being herded towards the far side of the room. Emily felt herself being pushed from behind and Lucius graciously caught her as she fell forward.

"Members of the board, I have a question," Joker said as he stepped into the room. "Who wants to die first?"


	24. Chapter 24

**Oh yeah baby- two updates in a week...you know that you love me!**

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* * *

"Members of the board, I have a question," Joker said as he stepped into the room. "Who wants to die first?"

The next few moments became a flurry of silent horror as the board members sat down on the carpeted floor. Six clowns with guns hovered over them as Joker approached, eyeing each of them. As his eyes fell on Emily, she felt herself swallow hard as his gaze lingered before he licked his lips and moved onto the next person.

"I need a volunteer," he finally said, as no one in the group dared to move. With one swift movement, he reached forward and grabbed ahold of Johnson, one of the younger members of the board. "You look like you're tech savvy."

Joker pulled him along with his hand and grabbed a small video camera from his bag. He shoved it at Johnson's chest.

"I need you to make a movie for me."

* * *

"Do it again," Bruce urged Bill.

Bill punched at Bruce's open palm.

"Again!"

And Bill followed the direction.

"Harder!"

"Bruce! If you say 'again' or 'harder' one more time I'll be forced to punch you in the face!"

The constant ordering caused Bill to get frustrated and he grunted with each punch he gave at Bruce's hands.

"You got it!" Bruce finally praised.

Bill, completely out of breath, relaxed and sat back on the small stool along the wall. He reached over and picked up a water bottle that rested against the chair.

"You have the idea now," Bruce added. "Work on the consistency of the hits and the accuracy will come."

Bill saw Alfred walk into the room first. The older man made a bee line for the mounted television and it wasn't until Alfred was standing on a chair to turn it on, that Bruce saw him. He was about to question what Alfred was doing until he saw an aerial photo of Wayne Tower appear on the screen, followed by the newscasters voice.

"We have breaking news. As Marcella reported earlier, it appears that the 36th floor of Wayne Tower has been taken hostage. Word has come in that the Joker is in the building as the station has just been anonymously given this recording. We warn you - the video is graphic."

An image of the Joker appeared on the screen of a rather shaky recording. He sat on top of a glass table with the view of Gotham behind him. Bruce curled his hands into a fist when he saw the familiar elevated tram pass by in the distance. He knew that view and exactly where Joker was.

Joker licked his lips.

"Hi," he said. He looked over his shoulder at the clear day over Gotham. "If you haven't guessed where I am, you'll figure it out soon enough. There will be bodies on the sidewalk outside of Wayne Tower. You have thirty minutes before I get impatient and start killing off my fifteen hostages."

He pushed himself off the table and turned towards the group sitting on the floor.

"And I have lots to choose from. If I get really antsy, I may just go ahead and push one or two out the window." Joker reached for his gun that laid on the table beside him.

"So uh...tick-tock." He paused for a moment and turned back to the camera.

"Did I say fifteen hostages? I meant fourteen."

He aimed the gun at the camera and fired.

* * *

More than a few people shrieked as they watched Johnson collapse to the floor; a bullet hole evident in his head as blood began to pool around him. A few even sobbed softly.

Emily felt her heart race as she watched Joker pick up the camera from Johnson's hand and proceeded to pull out the tape. He walked towards one of his clowns and handed him the tape. The clown nodded, obviously aware of the plan and left the room.

It was then that she felt it again; that tightening feeling that started in her back and then rotated to her stomach, squeezing like an uncomfortable belt wrapped around her. Trying to be inconspicuous and breath softly through a contraction was no easy task. She shifted slightly where she sat in hopes of not drawing attention to herself. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Except someone noticed.

Lucius was watching Emily.

Her facial expressions as she looked down and he was even certain that he saw her close her eyes, visibly trying to relax. It wasn't until he noticed her glance down at her watch and ran her hands over her large abdomen that he knew that something was wrong.

"You!" Joker suddenly said, gaining Lucius attention as he pointed directly at him. "You're the man in charge here?"

Lucius nodded. "I am."

Joker grabbed the phone from the corner of the room and slammed it onto the table as one of the clowns roughly pulled at Fox's shoulder and pulled him up to stand. Fox walked towards Joker where he stood by the phone.

"Call down to the front desk," he told him. "Tell them that there is a hostage situation here."

Confused and cautious, Fox slowly picked up the receiver and did what Joker had asked. After speaking briefly with the receptionist, he hung up the phone.

"You know, you really need to increase your security's pay," Joker commented. "It's amazing what a few low-paid security guards with the promise of a couple thousand dollars will do."

"I did what you asked," Fox said. "Now, let some of these people go."

Joker smiled. "And where would the fun be in that? Besides, just wait for the grand finale. When I'm done here, Wayne Tower will be nothing but a crater in the centre of Gotham."

"You're going to blow up Wayne Tower?"

Joker shrugged. "And every police officer or SWAT team that is sent to stop this hostage situation that you just called for."

He pushed Fox back towards one of the group and he sat back down, thinking about what was about to transpire with that one phone call. Lucius looked back at Emily and caught her gaze.

He mouthed two words to her - you, okay.

She simply shook her head solemnly before running her hands over her stomach and then to her back, massaging it.

The contractions weren't getting any worse as she sat there but they were consistent. They were only four minutes apart but her current situation concerned her. This was not the ideal place to be in labour.

She had to get out of there.

Nervously, she raised her hand, gaining the attention of the board members around her and the clowns as well.

"Excuse me," she spoke up.

Joker simply turned his head in her direction.

"I need to use the bathroom.

The clowns looked to each other, not knowing what to do as Joker sauntered up towards the group sitting on the floor. He kept his eyes on Emily as she sat.

"You look familiar," he said. "Have we met before?"

Emily didn't answer but he smiled. It was a look of pure evil as he smiled, showing his yellowish teeth as he ran his hand along the handle of his knife.

"So, we have. Who are you?"

Emily could feel her heart race.

"Emily. Emily Tucker."

Joker nodded. "Wayne's main squeeze." He paused looking down at the obvious fact that she was pregnant. "And it looks like he left you with a parting gift."

Joker glanced to one of his clowns and nodded who promptly reached for Emily's arm. He pulled her up to her feet. Joker took the opportunity to step closer to her, looking into her eyes. Emily shuddered under his gaze.

"But I do remember you from somewhere."

"The Pruett building, the night Harvey Dent died," Emily said softly, hoping that it would put an end to his visual examination of her face.

Joker nodded as a smile pulled at his scarred cheeks.

"One of those pretty doctors," he said, licking his lips as he took his knife, gently trailing it along her face to her neck.

"Please," she said softly as her voice shuddered nervously. "I really need to use the bathroom."

After a few more seconds, he pushed her towards one of the clowns and told him to bring her to the bathroom.

Emily felt like she could finally let out a breath that she had been holding. She knew that one of the armed clowns walked behind her as they headed towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. She prayed that the next contraction wouldn't begin until she reached the bathroom. Suddenly, the clown behind her grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a small Xerox room.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" she managed to exclaim as the clown pushed her into the room. She braced herself against the copy machine.

"Nothing yet," he snickered from behind the mask. "But this will only take a few minutes."

Emily's heart began to pound when she knew what the man was insinuating. She was prepared to put up a fight. She was ready to use every tactic that Bruce had taught her. Emily only hoped that her centre of gravity wouldn't throw her off and she wouldn't lose her balance.

Then it happened.

She could feel it come out of no where and gradually get stronger. It was stronger than any contraction she had before. Emily reached out and put her hand against the copy machine and the other hand to her stomach as she pinched her eyes tight, attempting to breathe deeply and relax as best as she could.

"Oh my god," Emily thought, just as the clown spoke the same words.

As though on cue, the lights flickered and then shut off before the emergency lighting turned on.

The clown backed up from Emily and turned, ready to go back to the room with the news of the woman being in labour when he was met with a firm fist to the face.

Batman swept his foot under him and quickly rendered the man unconscious before walking into the copy room. He could see Emily in the dim lighting and he quickly walked over to her.

"Emily, are you all right? Are you hurt?"

Without saying a word, she shook her head.

"I'm in labour," she gasped out, tears in her eyes. "Please, help me."

Emily quickly turned and put her hands on Batman's shoulders. He could see the pain in her face before she lowered her head, trying to regain control.

"I..I don't know...how or what to do, Emily," he said, his voice softening as it instantly became Bruce's.

As the pain subsided, she looked back up at him. The tears were still present in her eyes.

"Get us out of here," she told him.

Without saying a word, he nodded. He glanced out of the copy room and down the darkened hall towards his office. He knew it was unlocked; it was the way that he gained access to the building in the first place.

"Stay close," he told her as they made their way through the corridor. Voices could be heard but the words could not be made out. The entire floor except for the conference room had been vacated and since the announcement that there was a hostage situation in the building, it had been completely evacuated. Batman reached for Emily's hand, willing her to move faster.

It wasn't until he closed the door to his office and locked it that he relaxed a bit more.

"Where's the Joker?" he asked, softly.

"In the conference room. He has a few clowns in there with him."

Batman nodded, as he put his head beside the door, listening for anyone coming towards them.

"He has a bomb."

Batman suddenly turned his head towards Emily, the news shocking him.

"Where?"

She shrugged, her eyes watering once again. "It's somewhere in the building. He's planning on blowing up Wayne Tower once he has you."

Batman sighed, knowing that it had changed his plans and unfortunately, his priorities. He took her hands.

"Emily, I can't get you out of the building right now," Batman said, although the voice belonged to Bruce. "I have to stop him."

Emily nodded, feeling the tears begin to fall from her face. "I know."

"Stay in here until I return," he said, leaning in and pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment. "And I will return as soon as I can."

Emily smiled weakly. "First babies always seem to take their time anyways. That'll give you plenty of time to get that bastard and become a father."

A smile pulled at Batman's lips as he gently placed his hands on her stomach before taking her hand, gently squeezing it before he made his way to the window. Emily watched as he reached out the open window and shot a grappler across to the neighbouring building before he jumped out.

* * *

Lucius watched the door as time passed on from when Emily had left the room. He wasn't the only one wondering what was going on. Joker swiftly made one of his clowns go to check up on the whereabouts of the other clown and Emily. His brief comment about that one clown that took Emily probably had a fetish for pregnant women turned Lucius' stomach.

Less than a minute later, he heard footsteps rushing back towards the conference room. The door opened, revealing the clown had returned.

"Happy has been knocked out cold," he told him, completely out of breath from his run. "And the woman is nowhere to be found."

Joker clenched his teeth and Lucius was certain that he heard it.

Joker opened the conference room door and pushed the clown back out into the hallway. "Then go find her! If you come back empty-handed, I'll kill you."

Joker slammed the door behind him.

At that same moment, the glass from the window behind them suddenly blew out. Wind from the outside swept into the room as the board members began to shriek. In the midst of the chaos, Batman swept into the room and proceeded to fight the clowns, one by one. The hostages instinctively lowered themselves to the floor as they heard gunshots.

Batman grunted, feeling the impact of a gunshot hitting his back. He knew that would leave a nasty welt, but it was better than the alternative. He reached for his belt and quickly swung around throwing a bat dart at the other armed clown. The clown fell to the ground. Batman turned to see that Joker had left the room. He quickly raced towards the door and into the hallway and found that it was empty. Batman turned back to the conference room and nodded towards Mr. Fox who promptly urged the other board members to stand up to leave the room.

"Head towards the stairwell," he said. "If we only have emergency power, the elevators wont be working."

Lucius turned to Batman once the other board members were out of hearing distance.

"Emily is in labour."

"I know. She's in Mr. Wayne's office. I'd appreciate it if you could stay with her until I can get her out of the building."

"You're going after Joker?"

Batman nodded.

"Good luck."

Batman quickly disappeared down the hallway as Lucius headed to Bruce's office. He knocked lightly on the door.

"Emily?" he said softly. "It's Mr. Fox."

He could hear the door unlock before her nervous eyes appeared in the crack of the door. Mr. Fox watched her relax as she opened the door, allowing him to come in. Emily quickly closed the door and locked it behind her.

Lucius paused, noticing Emily's behaviour. Her blouse was unbuttoned at her neck and she was barefoot. A light sheen of sweat was on her forehead.

"How are you doing?" he asked, when she suddenly glared at him.

"Well, this isn't exactly a party," she growled. The moment her statement came out of her mouth, the way that it did, she regretted it. Emily sighed, frustrated.

"I'm sorry, Lucius," she apologized.

"No apology needed," he admitted as he undid his jacket and pulled it from his shoulders before draping it over the back of an arm chair across from Bruce's desk. "This certainly is not a party."

He watched her sigh as she rested her hands on her hips and began to sway. Her expression changed as he watched her begin to breath rhythmically. After a few more seconds she was able to relax again.

"How often do they come now?" Lucius finally asked once he knew that she would be able to answer properly.

"Three minutes or so," she told him. "I had to get out of that conference room. I couldn't sit still. They've only really picked up since I began moving around."

Lucius nodded and ran his hand over his face, trying to figure out what to do. He suddenly walked over to Bruce's desk and picked up the phone.

"The phone lines are dead," she told him, as he discovered it for himself.

He pulled open the drawers, shuffling the slim contents around.

"What are you looking for?"

"If I know Mister Wayne, he should have some sort of communication device in here somewhere," Lucius said.

Emily suddenly went over to the desk and began searching with him. She was about to shut a drawer when something caught Lucius' eyes and he stopped her. He reached into the drawer and pulled out a stapler. A smile appeared on Lucius' face as he set it on the table.

"It's a stapler," Emily deadpanned.

She heard Lucius chuckle. "It's a little more than just a stapler. I made this one a few years ago when Bruce asked for a communication device that would look inconspicuous. He laughed when I brought it to him. I was certain that he would have shelved it."

Emily watched as he effectively took it apart to reveal a cell phone no wider than her thumb.

He turned it on, lighting up the display.

"It works!" he announced happily as Emily felt her stomach tighten again. She walked away from Lucius and slowed down as it felt worse and worse. Finally, she stopped and leaned over Bruce's desk.

Fox looked up at the clock on the wall, and eventually he was counting aloud as the seconds passed. Oddly, Emily found that focussing on Lucius' voice counting the time helped tremendously. He stopped when she stood up straight again.

"Forty-two seconds," he told her, as she sighed. "They're getting longer and closer together.

"And stronger," she told him, as she grabbed a magazine from the small coffee table in Bruce's office and began to fan herself. "That was the worst one yet. Is it hot in here?"

"No, my dear, it is not," Lucius told her. "Perhaps if you sit down, maybe the contractions will slow down."

Emily shook her head as the phone on Bruce's desk began to beep. Lucius quickly picked it up.

"Hello? Alfred?"

Emily watched the confusion pass over Lucius face as he listened to the caller. He looked over at Emily.

"It's Bill Dravis."

Partially frantic and relieved, Emily quickly took the phone from Lucius and put it to her ear.

"Bill?"

_"Emily! Thank goodness you're all right. How are you? Batman told us that you're in labour."_

"I'm fine...as fine as I can possibly be," she told him. It suddenly hit her. "Wait. Are you in the cave?"

_"Yeah. Once Alfred heard that you were in labour, he called me down in case Batman brings you home. We've already contacted Dr. Thompkins so she's ready whenever you get to the hospital."_

Emily chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, about that," she said. "I need you to get ahold of Bruce and tell him to come back to his office. I don't think I'll make it to the hospital or home. If he wants to be here for this, he's going to have to get back here soon."


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N - 99 reviews guys. You're awesome! Who'll push it over the edge to the triple digits? **

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I rewrote it probably three times because I wasn't satisfied. I don't want to give you guys something that I know is not the best that I could do. Besides, the beautiful weather called Spring has finally arrived. Seriously...we had one day at the end of April where we had a thunderstorm, sleet, and snow all in one day! Not cool, Spring. And then it jumped up 20 degrees and we were living in the mid-twenty Celsius' for the past week. It's heaven!**

**So, sorry for the delay - but there are my reasons - perfectionism and the weather. I guess it could be worse. :)**

* * *

The clowns seemed to keep coming.

Batman had managed to get down fifteen floors below the executive floor and found where the bomb was being set up, but also found a group of Joker's men with the man himself.

"Kill him," Joker said darkly as one after another, the clowns attempted to beat on Batman.

With the only light coming from the outside window, Batman no longer had the element of surprise within the darkness. He could hear Joker giggle as he heard Batman cry out when one of the clown's knives happened to pierce his suit.

"Again!" Joker exclaimed happily.

To his dismay, Batman grabbed ahold of the clown's leg and twisted it with an audible crack, causing the guy to fall to the floor in a thud.

When he suddenly heard Alfred's voice in his ear, it took a moment for Batman to process what he was being told.

_"I'm sorry to bother you sir, but you need to get back to Emily right away. Frankly, she's going to have the baby without you if you don't get back to your office soon."_

Batman grunted, knowing that this was a possibility when he left her with Mr. Fox.

He grabbed another clown by the neck and punched him in the face, sending him to the ground before he spoke again, loud enough for Alfred to hear.

"How much time to do I have?"

"I'm not certain," Alfred replied. "Lucius tells me that her contractions aren't stopping anymore. Dr. Dravis says that she could have anywhere from a few minutes to an hour."

Batman looked over at the remaining clowns as they strategically stood in a row in front of him, each wielding either a metal chain, knife or metal rod. Behind them, Joker stood, eyeing him menacingly.

He quickly made up his mind.

Batman slowly backed up towards the window and quickly reached for a device on his belt. He tossed it at the glass, before giving it a swift kick. Shards of glass fell to the police blocked street below. He quickly turned and shot a grappler towards the rooftop of Wayne Tower before he disappeared from view.

Slightly disappointed, Joker pushed past his clowns and sauntered up to the window before glancing up where Batman had disappeared to. He licked his lips and smiled.

* * *

The window suddenly broke open as a blast of cold wind blew into the office. Batman landed on the ground behind his desk and instantly saw Emily standing with her head and arms resting against the wall. She didn't even pay him any attention. He paused, watching as she breathed deeply, swaying side to side. Her hair was dishevelled and a sheen of sweat was on her face.

Gently, he touched her shoulder to get her attention.

"Don't. Touch. Me," she growled, after she took each breath.

He turned to Mr. fox standing a few feet behind him.

"She wouldn't let me help her either. The contractions are almost non-stop now. I don't think she's getting a break between them anymore."

Batman pulls off his gloves and cowl, dropping them onto his desk before running his hands through his hair.

"I can't get her out of the building right now," Bruce said, looking over at Emily as she moaned and grunted against the pain afflicting her body. "We're going to have to stay here until the baby is born."

Lucius nodded, turning his attention to Emily before glancing back to Bruce.

"I don't suppose you have any experience in delivering babies."

"No," Bruce replied, reaching for the earwig that he knew was still sitting in his ear. "But I do know someone who would."

"Alfred, can you still hear me?"

"Yes sir. Loud and clear."

"Is Bill with you?"

"He is. What's going on?"

"I'm going to need his help."

After quickly speaking with Bill and Alfred, Bruce passed his earwig to Lucius for the man to be directed on supplies to gather from around Bruce's office. Bruce turned back to Emily and slowly walked up to her. Carefully, he placed his hand on her back.

"I can't do this anymore," she suddenly said. The strong woman that he knew was no where to be found. Bruce then realized that she had been crying during the contractions and was beginning to sob. The stress, pain and exhaustion were finally bringing her to her breaking point.

"This hurts so much. I'm so scared."

She pushed herself off the wall and wrapped her arms around Bruce's neck. He returned the embrace and could feel the sweat and heat radiating off of her.

"I'm not leaving you," he said softly. "I'm staying right here."

As another contraction suddenly gripped her body, Bruce felt her tense up as she slowly bent over resting her head against his chest while she held onto his arms.

"Relax your muscles," he told her calmly.

"Bruce, there is no way in hell that I can relax!" she growled back at him. "I want to go to the hospital so I can have drugs! Then, maybe I could relax!"

"Em, we're not going to a hospital," Bruce said.

She nodded, tears in her eyes as she watched Lucius search around the room, speaking softly to Bill and Alfred over Bruce's earwig.

"I know," she said, calming her breathing. "That's what scares me. This entire labour has not been textbook! This is my first baby. I should be in labour for hours, maybe even days. Besides, I'm not even due for another three weeks! This is not normal! I need..."

Emily paused, and looked up at Bruce wide-eyed before glancing down at the floor between them.

"What is it?" Bruce asked, instantly concerned at her change in demeanor.

She looked back up at him.

"My water just broke."

It took a second for her body to verify that fact when a strong contraction tore through her body once again, but this time it felt different. Her legs nearly gave out from under her as she cried out in pain. Bruce quickly wrapped his arms around her, holding Emily up against him as she gripped onto his armoured forearms as tightly as she could.

"Oh my god," Emily managed to cry out, as she grabbed ahold of her stomach. "Bruce, I have to push!"

"No! Not yet! Emily, don't push," Bruce told her, as he helped her to the ground.

"Lucius!" he called out.

He turned to find Lucius right beside him with a small stack of towels, his own suit jacket, box cutters and shoelaces. The man quickly passed Bruce the earwig and he placed it back into his ear.

"Bill?"

_"I'm here, Bruce."_

"You're going to have to walk me through this, because Emily isn't in the right frame of mind to tell me what to do right now," he said aloud, watching Emily's face as she breathed quickly with her eyes shut. "She's wanting to push."

Alfred listened to Bruce's voice fill the area of the cave where him and Bill sat in front of computer screens. If he didn't know any better, he was certain he heard fear in Bruce's voice. It was minimal, but it was there.

_"That's all right,_" Bill told him, calmly. "_Tell her to. I want you to check to see if you can feel anything."_

Bruce told Emily to push before he reached between her legs. As she cried out from the intense pain, Bill and Alfred could still hear Bruce's words.

"I feel the head," he said aloud and somewhat astonished.

_"Now, put your hand against it and you'll put the other hand under it_," Bill said louder for Bruce to hear. "_Don't pull the baby. Emily will take care of that._"

Bruce looked at Emily's face as she grimaced while she pushed. She would pause for a brief few seconds to catch her breath before going right back to pushing.

"Emily, you're doing it," he told her, before looking down at the baby slowly being born. Bruce smiled, catching the first glimpse of the baby's face. "Keep going! Go!"

As Emily's grunting and cries echoed within his office, Bruce watched as his child came into the world and into his hands.

Alfred stood, waiting with bated breath as he listened and waited for those first newborn cries.

Bruce listened to Bill's instructions intently as the baby began to cry in front of him. Emily leaned forward as best as she could, eagerly anticipating the first sight. Lucius crouched down next to Emily and placed his suit jacket on top of her. With a smirk, Bruce looked over at Emily as he picked up the crying newborn within his two hands and put the baby on top of Lucius' jacket.

Emily and Lucius pulled the edges of the coat around the small body while the baby slowly calmed her crying. She tried to absorb as much of that moment as possible, trying to etch it forever in her memory. The softness of the newborn skin, the dark hair on the baby's head, the smallness of the hands and even the way her lips pouted just seconds before she would let out a soft wail, protesting the coldness of the new world around her. To the baby's satisfaction, her uncontrollable hand appeared beside her face and she turned towards it, happily and loudly sucking on her fist.

When Alfred heard the sudden silence, a fear welled up within him.

"Is everything all right?"

Bruce smiled, looking at the baby; his daughter, in Emily's arms.

"Everything is fine," Bruce replied. "She's all right."

"She?" Alfred suddenly inquired. "Are you talking about Emily or the baby?"

Bruce nodded and sat back, watching Emily as she placed a kiss on the baby's forehead.

"Yeah, it's a girl. And she's beautiful, Alfred."

"I wouldn't have doubted that one bit. I can't wait to meet her."

"Call Leslie," Bruce said as he pushed himself up to stand. "Let her know that I'm going to be bringing Emily in to Dent Memorial."

Emily quickly looked up at Bruce and shook her head.

"Bruce, I'm fine," Emily stated. "I don't feel too bad. I'd rather just get out of here and go home."

Bruce looked at her, realizing the real reason behind her wanting to avoid the hospital. Her encounter earlier with Joker brought back her anxiety from years ago.

Finally, he nodded. He turned and pressed the earwig in his ear.

"On second thought, see if Leslie can make a house call," he said, reaching for his cowl and gloves.

"Very well sir," Alfred said. "I'll anticipate your arrival within the hour."

"Thanks Alfred," Bruce said, pulling the cowl over his head. "And Bill, thank you."

"My pleasure, Bruce."

Emily looked down at the baby resting quietly against her chest, eyes open and simply listening. Batman crouched down beside them and placed a large gloved hand over the small head. There was so much he wanted to say. He wanted to have that moment that every new father cherishes and hold his daughter, but that wouldn't be happening.

"We have to go," he said, softly. "Joker is somewhere in the building with a bomb and I need to get you out of here. Are you able to walk?"

Emily nodded silently before reaching under the baby and suit jacket to pass the small bundle up to Batman. He looked down momentarily at the baby in his arms, noting her dark eyes opening to look around.

"Surprisingly, I feel really good," she commented as she pushed herself up to stand, holding onto Batman's free arm for support. "I'm not ready to run a marathon, but I'll be able to manage."

Lucius appeared at her other side, taking her arm before walking over to the door. Batman looked over at him.

"The elevator down to R&D, would it work with main power down?"

"R&D and the elevator are hooked up to a different power network than the rest of the Wayne Tower," Lucius said. "As long as they didn't shut it down with the main power, then technically it should still be operational."

"That will be our way out," Batman said, before he looked down at the baby in his arms. He pulled the large suit jacket closer around her so that her face was barely visible. Gently, he handed the baby back to Emily.

He pulled open the door and peered into the dark hallway. A sudden flash of light and he quickly ducked back as a stream of bullets hit the thick door. Emily held the baby close to her and ducked down. The sudden movement and noise caused the baby to begin to whimper in her arms.

Emily peered inside at the baby covered by the coat and gently touched her face, trying to calmly quiet her.

Batman reached to his belt and pulled out three small pellets.

"Wait here," he told them. "I'll call you when it's safe to come out."

Once again, he pulled open the door and tossed the pellets out into the darkness. They could hear the hissing of the smoke being released from the pellets as Batman slipped back out into the hallway.

From within the office, Emily and Lucius could hear the shouts of a man before the sound completely disappeared.

"Go!" Batman called out.

Lucius opened the door and together, him and Emily made their way through the darkness and down the hallway towards his office.

Batman could see them making their way down the hallway and was even certain he heard a baby's cry. As he turned, he was met with a fist punching him in the side. It caught him off guard but he quickly turned and grabbed the man clowns arm, hearing it audibly crack as the man cried out. Batman shifted his gaze, ensuring that Emily and Lucius were all right just as another man with a tightly fit nylon on his face jumped at him, holding a knife in his hand. The man managed to cut Batman along his forearm, causing him to cry out. He quickly turned and saw someone coming at Emily from the corner of his eye. Batman swiftly punched his attacker in the face, sending him to the ground before running towards Emily.

She saw him coming at her, a knife in hand. With her arms full, and not in the best shape for fighting back, she turned away holding the baby close to her as Lucius backed up. Emily braced herself, while hearing the baby cry softly in her arms. But nothing happened.

Batman lunged forward as the man attacked and grabbed his arm before kicking him in the chest. He was angry and it showed as he punched the man in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Turning to Emily, he grabbed onto her arm.

"Come on!" he urged, pulling her along towards Lucius' office.

Once inside, Lucius ran towards his desk. He reached under the top drawer and prayed that it would open the hidden door.

Slowly, the shelving unit slide to the side revealing an elevator door opening. Batman literally shoved Emily into it before turning to Lucius beside her.

"Get them out of here," he told him.

As Emily heard those words, she put her free hand on the elevator door, preventing it from moving.

"No!" she exclaimed. "I'm not going to leave you again."

"Emily, you have to get out of here now," Batman growled, growing impatient and anxious at the same time. "Go with Mr. Fox. I'll come back to you later when this is over."

He turned and began to walk out of the office. She was shocked and suddenly angry. Quickly, she placed her newborn into Lucius surprised arms before taking a step out of the elevator.

"I'm not going to let you leave us again!" she called out. "You have your daughter to think about now!"

Batman stopped and turned, irritated that she wasn't following his direction. He turned on his heel and stalked right up to her.

"Emily, I am thinking about her and I'm telling you to get in the damn elevator," he growled, standing inches in front of her.

To any bystander, they would be surprised and even fearful to see a woman stand her ground in front of someone as intimidating as Batman.

"Not without you," she quickly retorted, determination in her eyes.

As he paused, he watched as tears formed in her eyes.

"This place could explode at any moment and this is the last place that I would want you both to be," he said, softly. "Please, get in the elevator."

Emily reached forward and took his hand. This time when she looked back at him, something behind him caught her eye. Batman not only noticed that, but also noticed her expression change. Her eyes seemed to reveal the sudden panic within her.

"Look out!" she exclaimed as Joker fired his gun at them, shattering the glass panels lining the doorway to Lucius' office.

Batman shoved Emily to the floor upon hearing the gunshots and the glass shattering. He grunted, feeling the impact of the bullet hitting the Kevlar on his back.

Emily turned her head, extremely anxious to see where Lucius and her newborn baby was. She let out a sigh of relief when she noticed him hiding behind his desk with the baby in his arms, wailing away.

Suddenly, it was over. All that could be heard was the soft crying of a newborn.

Joker looked down at his rifle in his hand and shrugged, somewhat confused and irritated that he was out of ammunition so soon.

Batman looked over his shoulder to where Joker stood in the hallway and watched as the deranged man tossed the empty gun to the side before feeling his pockets. He suddenly smiled, feeling the familiar box in his pant pocket.

"I'm so glad that you're here to experience this Batman," he called out. "Consider this a gift."

To Batman's horror, he watched as the Joker pressed the button on the small box. Instantly, the ground beneath them began to rumble as a high pressure wave blew through the building, knocking them to the floor and blowing out the windows and every piece of glass within Wayne Tower.

As quickly as it began, it was once again silent.

Batman turned towards the dusted hallway and saw that Joker had disappeared. Lucius stood up and passed the crying baby back to Emily before he raced over to the elevator.

"The power is down," he said aloud.

Batman looked out of the broken window, watching as smoke began to float up past the opening. He quickly walked over to it and looked down, seeing flames pouring out of the windows at least a dozen floors below them. Lucius was at his side, covering his own nose and mouth from the thick smoke that pillowed past.

"This is a problem," Lucius said.

"I brought the bat," Batman told him, as he pressed a button on his belt.

Emily walked up to the window as the loud engine of the bat grew louder with its approach. Smoke around the window dispersed with the large turbine engines that swirled it around.

They watched as the bat maneuvered itself beside the open window and steadily hovered in one place. Emily looked down at the baby in her arms, looking back up at her, listening intently to the strange sound. Quickly, she covered the baby's face with the jacket and handed her to Batman.

Batman looked out to the bat, aiming to jump onto the outer edge of it. He held tightly onto his precious cargo in his arms, becoming more cautious than he would have if he was doing it alone. The thought of knowing that he was jumping across a three foot span with his newborn daughter in his arms was far more daunting than he realized.

With a deep breath, he jumped and landed safely onto the bat. He gently placed the newborn on the seat before turning back, holding his hand out to Emily. She watched him, not willing to look down at the city street far below them and instead reached for his hand. Lucius followed behind as smoke continued to pour out of the building.

Smoke filled the sky above Gotham city. News travelled fast that something had happened within Wayne Tower, and although most of the building remained structurally intact, it wasn't safe to climb to the higher floors. Most of the windows had blown out and it was possible to look up within the building in some places and see up at least five floors. Fire fighters from around the city were on the scene, using their ladders and hoses to extinguish fires that had erupted on the higher floors.

From a distance, Joker watched from within a helicopter as it moved further and further away from the city downtown core. A sinister smile remained on his face as the helicopter finally landed across town and he effectively shot and killed the pilot before exiting the chopper. His evil mind replayed what he had seen and heard moments before he pressed that single button in Wayne Tower.

A baby's cry.

"You have your daughter to think about now!"

It was starting to make sense.

That damn pregnant woman from the board room was pregnant with Batman's baby. If he had only known that she was in labour, he would have killed her the moment he walked into the board room. He was suddenly glad that he hadn't.

Upon hearing those words and watching that simple exchange between them, it didn't take a brain surgeon to realize that this woman was more than just the mother of his child. This woman just also happened to be the same woman he had seen on covers of magazines holding onto another man's hand; Bruce Wayne's. Joker let out a snickering laugh as he sauntered away from the helicopter.


	26. Chapter 26

**Because of all of those nice reviews and private messages, I worked extra hard to bring you this longer chapter. I appreciate the suggestions and comments. Warning - a little sexuality within this chapter. **

* * *

Five Weeks Later

It was nearly dark when Leslie walked up the front stone stairs up to the stately door of Wayne Manor. This was a visit that she had been anticipating all week. She had visited the day that the baby was born but was eager to see her again. Leslie was shocked to hear that Bruce had delivered his own child and was also impressed. What surprised her most was that they hadn't even chosen a name yet when she had first visited. Leslie had watched with amusement as Emily and Bruce suggested names, except either one or the other would find a reason to dislike it. She had never seen parents discuss and analyze a child's name more than those two.

"I'm sorry that I'm late," she said, when she saw Alfred open the door. "I hope I didn't ruin our dinner."

The older man smiled.

"Never too late, my dear," he told her with a smile, as she walked into the home.

Alfred closed the door and assisted her with taking off her winter coat.

"How are they doing?" she asked, as Alfred waited while Leslie took off her boots. "Please tell me that they've come up with a name."

Alfred chuckled and nodded.

"Everyone is doing well," he replied. "Some of us are getting more sleep than others, but that is to be expected."

Leslie smiled and was about to speak but paused when she heard a soft cry echo from the top of the staircase. To her delight, she spotted Bruce coming down the stairs with a baby in a sleeper laying across one arm and an elaborate infants chair in the other.

"Multitasking, huh Bruce? Fatherhood suits you."

Bruce looked up to see Leslie at the front door and smiled.

"Thank you, Leslie. I hope you and Alfred have a lovely dinner tonight," he said before the older woman turned her attention to the baby in his arms who was complaining loudly.

"We will. And what is wrong with the little peanut?"

He put the chair on the floor before he turned the baby upright, causing her to become a little more content.

"Clara is having a feud with the bottle. She's refusing to take it," he replied. "Emily should have been home over an hour ago but I think she's been held up at a board meeting that went longer than expected."

"Oh, poor baby," she gushed, looking at the baby in Bruce's arms who proceeded to pull up her bottom lip and cry. Leslie looked back up at Bruce. "Clara, is it?"

He nodded. "It was the one name that Emily and I both agreed upon."

"Clara Wayne," Leslie said softly, looking at the crying baby. "That's a lovely name for a little princess. I'm glad that I haven't seen her in newspapers or her name being mentioned anywhere."

Bruce smiled lightly rocking Clara in his arms, hoping to soothe her a little.

"Alfred did a wonderful job handling the announcement of her birth to nosey newspaper organizations and bothersome media outlets with plenty of discretion," he said, elbowing Alfred slightly.

"I'm not surprised. I wouldn't doubt that Alfred would be the pinnacle of discretion."

"The last thing that I would want for the child is to be thrust into the media spotlight before she's even capable of saying her first word," Alfred stated. "She deserves to have a childhood without having someone, either than Master Bruce and Emily of course, to be watching her every move."

"I believe that you're quite taken by Clara," Leslie concluded.

"Who wouldn't be?" Alfred said with a smile and a shrug.

Bill suddenly came walking up towards them, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. He greeted Leslie before turning to Bruce.

"Are you still up for a round in the gym?"

"Of course," Bruce replied. "I was hoping that Emily would be back by now, so I'm going to be bringing Clara with us and have her sit in her chair by the mats."

Bill grimaced sympathetically as he looked at Clara's upset face.

"Are you sure? We can do it another time or wait for Emily to return."

Bruce shook his head just as Leslie spoke up.

"I can hold onto the little peanut while you men do what you have to do in the gym," she said, reaching forward to take Clara from Bruce's arms. The baby continued to wail and at that point only wanted Emily to nurse her.

Bruce didn't feel comfortable leaving Clara with Leslie for the only reason that the baby wouldn't stop crying. He wouldn't want to leave Clara with Alfred at that point. There was nothing pleasant about holding a crying, hungry baby. Knowing that she and Alfred had plans for a quiet evening together made it all the more worse.

"Leslie, I can't let you..."

"You can," she interjected. "Besides, that gym is not a place for a baby. The grunting and fighting you men will be doing will only make her more upset." Leslie looked to Alfred for a moment who simply smiled at the baby in her arms. "We can look after her until Emily comes home."

Bruce was somewhat hesitant but with the insisting from Alfred, he walked away with Bill. He could hear Clara continue to cry as he walked further and further from where Leslie and Alfred were. He only hoped that he would be able to concentrate enough, knowing that his daughter was frantically upset.

"Maybe I'll be able to get a point on you tonight," Bill said, knowing that Bruce would be distracted with Clara's cries.

* * *

"Damn it, damn it, damn it," Emily cursed as she sped through Gotham in Bruce's Lamborghini. She pushed the pair of helium balloons away from her and prayed that she wouldn't be pulled over by Gotham's finest.

The clock within the Lamborghini screamed at her that she was nearly two hours late. She only hoped that Clara wouldn't be too upset. Emily reached for the console and pressed the in-car speaker to phone Wayne Manor.

It rang once, twice, three times before she heard Alfred's voice come over the speaker in the car. She could distinctly hear the sound of a baby crying in the background. Emily jumped right to the point.

"I'm on my way home," she simply told him. "How is she?"

Alfred looked over his shoulder to where Leslie was simply pacing back and forth in front of a warm fireplace with Clara resting her head on the older woman's shoulder. He smiled, watching as Clara would snuggle against Leslie's neck.

_"Hungry,_" he replied.

"She wouldn't take the bottle?"

_"Master Bruce tried numerous times."_

Emily sighed audibly. The feeling of possibly failing her daughter was overwhelming.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, regret evident in her tone.

_"No need to apologize_," Alfred said pleasantly. "_These things happen. Clara will never remember this instance in her life where her Mother was late and she was extremely hungry."_

"That's one good thing," Emily said, as she turned a corner and made her way onto the freeway to take her out of the city towards the palisades. "I'll feed her the moment I get in. She'll probably fall asleep on me. Can you pull out pyjamas for her?"

_"Certainly,"_ Alfred replied. "_I'll have her dressed and ready for you."_

"Thank you, Alfred."

"_My pleasure madam_."

Emily pressed the button on the console to hang up before looking back out at the road in front of her. It then hit her.

"Madam? When did I become a 'madam'?"

* * *

Emily was certain that she sent a wave of stones across the drive when she skidded to a stop. She winced inwardly, praying that there wouldn't be any noticeable damage to one of Bruce's favourite cars.

Quickly grabbing her purse and ignoring the pile of gifts in the passenger seat, she walked in through the side door and kicked off her shoes. Emily listened and was surprised when she didn't hear anything at all.

She walked past the kitchen, and found it empty and dark. It wasn't until she approached the gym that she heard voices and the low bass beat of music playing. Emily pushed open the door and found Bruce flat on his back on a layer of mats with Bill pinning him down. Emily looked around, hoping to see Clara somewhere.

Bruce noticed her at the door and Bill stood up, letting Bruce up when he noticed her there.

"Where's Clara?"

"Leslie and Alfred have her," Bruce replied, as Emily quickly turned and left the room. Bruce stood up and rushed towards the door and followed her out into the hallway.

"Em, how did the meeting go?"

"Fine," she quickly replied, as she continued to search through Wayne Manor for Clara.

"Did they mention anything about Wayne Tower?"

She nodded. "A little."

"Well...what did they say?"

"Not too much. Repairs are going as planned and structurally, the building is sound. It's being gutted in a few areas and Lucius is ensuring that workmen are keeping clear of R&D. Aren't you going to ask me how the grand opening went?"

A smile pulled a Bruce's lips. It was something that he knew she had been looking forward to for weeks.

"Of course," he said smoothly. "How did the grand opening of the clinic go?"

"It was horrible."

Her response caught him by surprise. The smile instantly faded from his face.

"What? Why?"

She paused and turned to him. "Your board of directors and my clinic staff gave me a damned surprise baby shower and the Lamborghini is crammed full of stuff."

Bruce winced, not realizing that was the reason why she was late. She had been afraid that it would happen and even voiced her concern over a possible surprise baby shower before she left. She disliked being put on the spot and this was certainly something worthy of her anxiety. Bruce had assured her that it was only a meeting and the board was always strictly business, but apparently, he was wrong.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fredericks planned it and were so supportive with your absence and possible demise and even reminisced about how they had a similar party for your Mom and Dad when you were born," she said, with a sigh. "How could I suddenly leave knowing that they were doing something so genuine and thoughtful without offending them?"

Bruce rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.

"You got me there."

Emily sighed and began to walk down the hallway and paused when she walked past the den.

It was Leslie sitting in a chair by the fireplace that she saw first. The woman put a finger to her lips and then pointed towards the rocking chair across the room.. Emily and Bruce looked in and saw Alfred leaning back in the chair with his eyes closed and Clara laying on her stomach on top of his chest. Every so often, Clara would give out a light moan indicating she wasn't exactly sound asleep.

Leslie stood up from the couch where she sat and walked over to the doorway.

"She suddenly fell asleep about ten minutes ago," she whispered, turning to look over at Alfred and Clara. "The poor thing was exhausted from crying so much. Alfred managed to calm her down with just speaking softly to her and she fell asleep."

Alfred heard Leslie's voice and glanced over at the door and smiled.

"It looks like Alfred has that special touch," Bruce said as Emily walked into the room towards the older man.

She gently placed her hand on Clara's back, lightly startling her to the point where she simply opened her eyes. Emily leaned over and placed a kiss on Clara's cheek before whispering in her ear.

"Mommy's home," she said, as Clara's eyes opened once again.

Alfred gently lifted Clara off of his chest and turned her over, before handing her to Emily.

"Thank you Alfred. Leslie," Emily added softly as Clara began to whimper once again. "I hope Clara didn't ruin your evening."

Leslie shook her head as Alfred spoke.

"Oh, no my dear. When you get to be our age, you'll realize that a baby could never ruin an evening. I consider it a pleasure to spend some time with Miss Clara even if she was crying most of the time."

Emily smiled, looking down at Clara in her arms as the baby looked up at her mother intently.

"Well, let's see if I can take care of that," Emily said, as she walked out of the room and stopped when she met Bruce in the hallway.

"Would you and Bill mind emptying the car?"

"Not a problem. We need to take a break anyways," Bruce replied, as he turned to walk away. Instead, Emily caught him by the arm.

He paused and looked up at her as she walked up to him, gently trailing her hand across his stomach.

"Maybe later, you and I...?"

A smile pulled at Bruce's lips as he leaned down and kissed her mouth, sighing lightly at the touch and quickly realized how he longed to be intimate with her.

Clara began to wiggle more between them and he broke the kiss to look down at his daughter who happened to be anxiously staring up at Emily. Bruce smiled, bent over and kissed Clara on the forehead.

"Goodnight peanut," he said softly, before smiling up at Emily.

"Empty the car," she reminded him, when she noticed that Bruce was just staring at her as she walked away.

"Yes, ma'am," he chastised, smirking and glancing back at her once more before walking away.

* * *

He wasn't sure how many times he had replayed the video.

Bruce sat at his desk in the cave and stretched before starting up another surveillance recording from Wayne Tower just prior to Joker's arrival five weeks prior. He watched as a man walked in through the front door, carrying a backpack on his shoulder. As he was stopped by security, the man pulled out a gun and instantly shot the security guard before turning it towards the other guard. Bruce watched as people ran; most of them out onto the street, while others ducked and hid from view. Behind the Joker another ten or so men with masks followed him into the elevator.

He changed to a different recording and paused it, seeing Emily being led down the hallway with a clown behind her. The video was too grainy to make out her face, but just in the way she walked, he could tell that she was in pain.

He began searching random surveillance cameras, desperate to find the current location of Joker.

His attention suddenly turned to his cell phone when he saw that someone was calling him. He instantly smiled when he realized it was coming from upstairs. He answered it.

"I thought you were only going to be a few minutes," Emily said to him.

Bruce looked at his watch and groaned when he realized that it was shortly after midnight.

"Oh, Em, I'm so sorry," he said, as he quickly stood up, and headed towards the lift. "I'm on my way up now."

"You'd better hurry," she sang, huskily. "I've considered getting dressed in something else because I'm getting cold."

Bruce couldn't help but smile as an image came to his mind.

"Don't," he warned her. "I'm coming."

He heard her chuckle.

"Do me a quick favour," she said. "Peek in on Clara before coming to bed. I thought I heard her crying a few minutes ago."

"Sure thing."

The lift reached the top and Bruce quickly emerged from behind the shelving unit. The Manor was dark with everyone in bed. The moonlit night brought in enough light that he could easily see where he was going.

Bruce climbed the stairs and headed to Clara's room across from his own. He gently opened the door. He slowly moved towards the crib and noticed the baby sleeping soundly within it. Bruce could hear a light whistling sound coming from Clara's nose as she slept. Not wanting to disturb her, he snuck out of the room and carefully closed the door.

When he opened his bedroom door, he instantly noticed the light was on beside the bed. He fully expected to see Emily's smiling face, waiting for him but instead he was met with her back.

"Em?"

No response.

As he walked closer, he could see a red bra strap going across her back. He slipped off his shoes and knelt on the bed to peek over to where she was laying down.

He sighed, seeing the cell phone on the table beside the bed and her eyes closed.

She had fallen asleep in the time it took him to come up from the cave.

He sat back on the bed by his pillow and let out an aggravated sigh while he ran his hand through his hair.

"Serves you right to forget about me waiting for you."

Bruce looked back at Emily and watched as she turned over, no evidence of sleepiness on her face.

"You were faking?"

Emily smiled.

"That was mean," Bruce stated, as Emily simply shrugged.

Bruce's eyes fell upon the red lacy bra that she wore and Emily smirked, satisfied with herself to have that power over him. His eyes went down to the bed sheet that covered the lower half of her body.

"And you have the matching underwear, I assume."

Emily shook her head, a playful smirk on her face.

"I couldn't find them and I figured I wouldn't need them for too long anyways."

In less than a second after she spoke, Bruce's lips crashed onto hers as he attempted to pull his shirt over his head at the same time. Emily chuckled at his frustration when he finally tossed it across the room. She reached for his pant zipper, glad that he hadn't worn a belt that day.

Bruce leaned down and began to make a trail of kisses down her neck and towards her bra strap. He pushed it aside slightly. Emily couldn't help but shiver at the feeling that he elicited within her. Physical intimacy with Bruce had been few and scarce since Clara's birth. It had been too long and she craved him.

Before he knew it, Emily had skillfully pulled off his pants and Bruce soon joined her beneath the single sheet, and found her legs quickly entwining his own. He thought it odd that she was the one who was initiating everything, but he didn't mind it. Bruce enjoyed having Emily be the one in control. He was surprised when she pushed him onto his back and quickly climbed on top of him and straddled his waist. Bruce watched in amusement as Emily reached behind her back and undid her bra clasp. Always the tease, she didn't take it off right away.

Emily watched Bruce's eyes and saw them grow darker. She reached forward and took his wrists and pinned them down above his head, preventing him from removing her bra himself. But with her simple action, the bra slid off her shoulders and down her arms, exposing her breasts to him.

Breathing deeply, Bruce twisted his legs over her own and quickly flipped her over onto her back and landing him on top of her. The quick motion caused Emily to squeal and let out a laugh that Bruce quickly muffled with his mouth over her own. The passionate kiss turned rough as Bruce trailed those kisses down her neck and onto her chest. Emily reached forward and grabbed ahold of Bruce's head and pulled him towards her, landing her mouth on his once again. She ran her tongue across the inside of his lip and heard him moan at the sensation she was causing within him. Emily wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer to her.

She broke the kiss and ran her hands through his messy hair, taking a look at his face.

"I love you," she whispered, as a smile appeared on Bruce's face.

"I love you," he said, before leaning down and crashing his lips back onto hers once again.

The sound of whimpering followed soon after by a loud cry caused Emily to suddenly turn her head towards the baby monitor in the corner of the room on their dresser.

"Bruce, hold on," she said, pushing on his chest, causing him to pause and listen through his uneven breaths.

"What is it?"

"It's Clara," Emily replied.

Bruce quickly leaned back down and kissed Emily's neck.

"She'll calm down. Give her another minute," he said, breathlessly into her ear.

"Bruce, something could be wrong."

"She's fine. Give her a few minutes and she'll calm down," Bruce assured her, whispering the words huskily in her ear.

"I don't know..."

"There is no safer place in the world for her to be than across the hall from her Father."

Emily had to agree with him and she nodded, turning back to find Bruce's lips on her neck once again. She closed her eyes, relishing in his touch and the feeling of him within her. But she couldn't help but think of Clara as her cries echoed into their room. Emily's attention suddenly switched away from Bruce and he could tell that she was no longer in the mood. He paused and looked at Emily before rolling himself off of her and laying back on the bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked, confused.

"Go check on Clara."

She waited and looked at Bruce. She could see the hurt flash in his eyes but the cries that Clara was making tore at Emily's heart.

"I know that not knowing what's wrong with Clara is bothering you," he added.

She quickly stood up, grabbed her house coat and put it on before she headed towards the door.

"I'm sorry. I'll be back as soon as I can," she said softly, before opening the door and disappearing into the hallway.

Bruce leaned back on his pillow and pulled up the sheet with a sigh of frustration. He turned to the monitor, hearing Emily's soothing voice speaking to Clara before a rusting of blankets could be heard. Clara quieted and Bruce could soon hear the distinct sound of a rhythmic squeaking. He sighed, knowing that it meant that Emily was most likely nursing her in the rocking chair. He also knew that she wouldn't be back anytime soon, as Clara seemed to nurse longer at night.

He reached for his pajama pants from the floor and pulled them on before grabbing a shirt from the drawer. He knew that sleeping right now would be pointless. Instead, he left the room and headed back down to the cave.

* * *

The next morning, Bruce walked into the kitchen, fully expecting to find Emily waiting for him there. What he did see were just Alfred and Bill, speaking to eat other while eating at the table.

"Good morning sir," Alfred said, looking up towards the door. "Or perhaps I should say good afternoon. What time did you get in this morning?"

"I never left," Bruce replied, stoically. "I had some work to do in the cave."

"In the middle of the night?"

Bruce didn't answer and instead went over to the counter and grabbed an apple from the bowl. He took a bite and then suddenly looked around, noticing for the first time that Clara wasn't around.

"Where is Clara?"

"With Emily, I'd imagine," Alfred replied, watching Bruce's reaction carefully as he attempted to read the man that he could sometimes read like a book.

"Oh."

Alfred found it interesting that he didn't prod for further details. Emily had woken earlier that morning in a similar mood. Neither one seemed to have slept well and were both on edge.

"She's in the gym, sir."

Bruce turned, left the kitchen and headed towards the gym. Before he even opened the door, he could hear the sound of someone hitting the electronic sparring partner. He pushed the door open and saw Emily in the midst of beating the machine relentlessly. Her hair was pulled up into an unruly pony tail and the collar of her tank top was wet with sweat.

Bruce looked along the wall and saw the mechanical swing moving back and forth. He smiled, seeing Clara swaddled tightly and sleeping comfortably. He continued to watch Emily until the session with the sparring partner announced the round was finished.

"You didn't give him a chance," Bruce quipped.

Emily spun around, surprised that anyone was in the room with her.

"So, you decided to get up after all," she retorted flatly.

"Whoa, a little volatile this morning, aren't we?"

She didn't say a word but instead turned back around and pressed the console to begin another round.

Bruce walked up onto the mats and circled around to stand behind the sparring trainer. He watched her face; her intense focus as she beat at the machine. After a few seconds, she looked past it and at Bruce's face as he stood there with his hands in his pockets.

She was so distracted that she missed a hit. Emily sighed.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing. What is wrong with you?"

She turned back her attention to the machine in front of her. "Nothing. You're the one with the attitude."

Bruce let out a mock laugh. "I'm the one with the attitude?"

Emily nodded before punching the machine in the locations it directed, harder than she had been before.

"Last night when I came back from nursing Clara, you were gone," she began. "I figured that you were downstairs so I laid back down in bed and waited for you come back. Clara was up two more times after that and when I finally came back to bed, you were there, asleep."

She punched the machine harder as she spoke and Bruce watched her every move.

"I leaned over and began kissing your neck, trying to get your attention. I came up right next to you and ran my hand over her chest," she told him. "I did everything to get your attention and you simply mumbled something about not tonight no longer being a good night. So, I laid there for another two hours before falling asleep."

The machine beeped, alerting her that the round was done again and flashed a high score. She turned from the machine and looked at him.

"Bruce, I can't recall the last time we had sex," she finally said. "I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to go crazy. I know that Clara interrupted last night but I thought we would be able to jump back where we left off and when you said that you weren't interested, I felt like screaming. I had waited for you all evening and it was over. I feel like since you have returned there has been no intimacy between us anymore."

Bruce put his hands in his pocket and nodded, as she spoke.

"So, you've been letting out your frustration on my machines," he stated rather than questioned.

Emily shrugged.

"It helps."

He nodded before he pulled off his shoes and stepped up onto the mats where she was standing.

"I'm frustrated as well. That's why I left the bedroom originally. I've also had a lot on my mind recently," he said, before glancing over at Clara for a moment as she sat in the swing. "Clara and you are the most important people in the world to me and knowing that Joker is still out there and could have killed you both, scares the shit out of me."

"Bruce, you're not alone in this," she reminded him.

He sighed and looked up at her. The last thing he wanted was for Emily to be involved but he also knew that she wouldn't change her mind. Instead, he changed the subject on her.

"We're both frustrated. So, take it out on me," he said.

Emily stared at him, perplexed.

"I'm the reason behind your frustration. Give me your best shot," he taunted.

"You're serious?"

Bruce nodded, as he got himself into a fighting stance across from Emily.

"Completely," he replied, with a smirk. "Come on, Doctor Tucker. Show me your moves."

Emily couldn't help but laugh.

"I can't beat you," she told him. "You'll end up hurting me somehow."

"I was watching you," he stated. "You've gotten one hundred percent better than you were when I first met..."

Not allowing him to finish, Emily lunged at him, grabbing his arm and twisting it so that he was directly behind her. He heard him chuckle lightly in her ear.

"Very clever," he acknowledged. "But you forgot one thing."

Emily paused, turning her head to Bruce, waiting for him to finish speaking. Instead, he twisted her around and flipped her over, landing Emily on her back.

"Don't let down your guard regardless of who your opponent may be," Bruce said, holding her arms down on the mats.

She struggled slightly as a smirk appeared on her lips.

"I didn't."

She pulled her legs up and wrapped them around Bruce's neck, using his weight to pull herself up to stand while he fell to the ground, flat on his back.

"Well played, Emily!"

She turned to the voice by the door and saw Alfred, smiling brightly.

"Thank you, Alfred," Emily said, holding her hand out to Bruce as he laid on the ground.

He looked up at her, somewhat shocked and took her hand.

"The student becomes the teacher, huh?" she said with a grin.

Alfred looked from Bruce to Emily.

"You have that interview at the clinic in an hour," he said to Emily. "Would you be wanting me to drive you, Madam?"

"Uh, no thank you, Alfred. I'll find my way there."

The older man turned and walked out of the room, leaving Emily and Bruce standing, staring at the door both with one question on word in their minds.

"Did he just say Madam?" Bruce finally asked.

Emily turned and nodded. "That is the second time I've caught him saying it."

She looked down at the ring on her finger.

"What are we going to do about the whole marriage thing anyways? I can't marry a dead man."

Bruce nodded and smiled.

"Let's wait," he replied, taking her by the shoulders. "At least until everything with the Joker is over."

"I hope that Clara isn't walking by that time," she stated.

* * *

Bruce looked at Emily sitting in the front seat of the Audi beside him. Her lap displayed an array of documents with notes scribbled within the margins. Her doctor's handwriting made it nearly impossible for him to figure out what she had written. He glanced up in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Clara wide awake and looking at a toy in her rear facing infant car seat. Bruce had convinced Emily to allow him to drive her into the city. Bruce admitted that he missed the hustle and bustle of Gotham and simply needed a jaunt into the city to get that feeling out of his system. He further insisted on bringing Clara along and planned on spending some time with her before picking up Emily once again.

Emily pulled down the visor and flipped out the mirror, checking her reflection once more.

"You look beautiful," he told her, with a smirk.

Emily smiled weakly and sighed.

"You know how I just love speaking with the media," she stated sarcastically.

Bruce smiled.

"Give me a call when you're ready to be picked up," he said, as he pulled up in front of the newly rebuilt medical clinic. There was no evidence of the media that were to arrive within the next few minutes to take photos of the inside of the Wayne Industries funded clinic.

"I shouldn't be too long," she said. Emily turned to the infant seat behind them and gently traced her hand along Clara's face, noting her movement indicated that she was awake. Emily smiled, and leaned over the centre console and placed a kiss on Bruce's lips.

"Good luck," he said, as she opened the car door and walked towards the front entrance. She opened the door and turned just as Bruce took off down the road.

The smell of fresh paint, new carpets and clean chairs met her. The reception area resembled that of a magazine.

Emily caught a familiar face at the receptionists desk and smiled broadly as the woman quickly stood up and pushed open the door into the back area of the clinic. Louise gave Emily a tight hug.

"Emily! It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, Louise. It's great to have you back at your desk."

Louise looked back at the receptionist's desk.

"I didn't think I'd ever be back," she said, before looking past Emily. "Now, where is that little Clara?! I was hoping that you would bring her along with you."

Emily winced. "Not today. Not with the photographers and interviewers that will be here."

Louise nodded, instantly understanding.

Emily reached out and took her hand.

"But soon, I'll be certain to bring her in," Emily promised. "I'm sure she'd love it here."

Emily turned just as she heard her name being called and saw Janie skip towards her, embracing her in a hug. Janie's smile fell as she squeezed Emily's hand.

"Em, I'm so sorry about Bruce," she said. "It just broke my heart when I heard that he's been missing and his company is going ahead to declare him dead."

"You still don't know where he is?" Louise prodded.

Emily hesitated for a moment and then shook her head, a pang of guilt as she lied to her best friends tore at her heart.

Janie was about to ask another question when the front door chime alerted them that the photographers had arrived. Louise met them in the reception as Janie pulled Emily aside for a moment and spoke softly.

"He's alive, isn't he. I can see it on your face."

Emily couldn't bring herself to look into Janie's eyes and was relieved when Louise entered the back area of the clinic with a handful of photographers and reporters. Not answering the question, she approached the media and proceeded to shake their hands, and began the interview.

Janie and Louise watched as Emily answered questions, some pertaining to the clinic while others dove into her personal life. She effectively drove the conversation back to the subject of the clinic.

After an hour and a half, the interviews were over and the reporters left the clinic, satisfied with what they had gotten. Emily closed the clinic door and locked it. She turned and found Janie and Louise standing behind her, causing her to jump.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "What are you trying to do? Scare the crap out of me?"

"Emily, where is he?" Janie asked.

Emily paused, her heart beginning to thump wildly. She found it so easy to lie to reporters and play with part of a grieving loved one, but to her best friends, it was a different story.

"Who?"

"God damn it, Em," Janie swore. "Bruce Wayne, who else?"

"I don't know," she replied softly.

"You don't know, or you don't want to tell us?" Louise asked, her voice quiet.

Emily swallowed. They knew she had been lying and she knew that they were aware of it.

"Emily are you in any kind of trouble? I don't know what I could do, but I'd help in any way that I could."

Emily smiled shyly.

"No," she replied.

"Then why are you acting like Bruce is dead when he isn't?" Louise asked.

"I never said that he was alive," she quickly retorted.

"You're certainly not playing the part of a grieving loved one very well either," Janie told her. "I know that you loved...er, love Bruce very much and I can't imagine you acting this way if he wasn't alive."

Emily sighed, looking out the window to verify that no one was near the door who could hear.

"He's alive," she said softly. "But no one can know."

"Why?"

"The Joker made a threat against his life," Emily told them. "If he heard that Bruce was alive, he'd come after him or even worse, me or Clara."

"So, you're playing him as dead," Janie concluded.

Emily nodded solemnly.

"It wasn't my first choice, but if it means keeping us safe, I'll do it."

"How long are you going to keep this up for?" Louise asked.

Emily shrugged.

"Until Joker is captured or killed."

"What if that never happens?" Janie asked softly.

"It has to."

* * *

Bruce sat in the car down the road from the clinic, watching and waiting for Emily to come out. He reached over the seat into the back and rubbed Clara's head. The baby let out a breathy sigh happily in her seat behind him. A smile came to his face when he saw Emily walk out of the clinic.

"Ah, there's your Mom," Bruce said aloud as he put the car into drive and pulled up closer to where Emily stood.

Instead of opening the door, she gestured to him to simply roll down the window. Confused, he complied as Emily bent over to speak to him through the open window.

"I'm going to bring Clara in," she told him. "Janie and Louise are asking about her."

Bruce nodded, and unlocked the doors for Emily to open the back door when a thought occurred to them.

"How did they know she was here?"

"I told them that she would be waiting out in the car with you."

That got his attention.

"With me? You told them that I was here?"

Emily nodded, as she reached into the backseat and began to unclasp the car seat straps.

"Somehow they already knew that you weren't dead."

"Emily, if the Joker finds out that I'm alive that could put all of our lives at risk," he argued, glancing down at Clara as Emily gently pulled her from her seat and held her carefully against her chest.

"I trust them, Bruce," Emily stated. "I simply explained to them that if you're declared dead then Joker would never know that you're Batman either."

She watched in amusement as her statement impacted him. Before he could say a word, she leaned over and kissed his lips once more.

"You make teasing you too easy," she told him, as a smirk appeared on his face.

"That wasn't very funny. Don't joke about that."

Emily slid out of the car and closed the back door before leaning in front of the passenger window.

"We'll be back in a few minutes," she told him before walking with Clara back to the clinic.

* * *

"Oh, she is so sweet," Janie said, as she held Clara in her arms. "Without a doubt she has your face shape and nose, Em."

Emily smiled, watching her friends gush over Clara. The baby simply looked around, listening to her surroundings.

"And those eyes and pouty lips definitely belong to Bruce," Janie added as Clara began to fuss.

Emily couldn't help but chuckle as Louise took Clara from Janie. The older woman held Clara upright, getting a good look at the baby she was holding. Instead of holding her in her arms, Louise put her up on her shoulder.

"She just wanted to get a look around the place that she's going to helping out in when she gets walking around," Louise said, glancing at Clara as the baby did a pretty good job at keeping her head upright.

The sound of someone suddenly knocking on the front door caught their attention. Emily instantly recognized it as Bruce with a hoodie pulled low over his head. Janie rushed over to the door and unlocked it. He glanced at the woman for a brief second before looking at Emily. He pulled his hoodie back from his face slightly.

"We have to go," he stated, urgently.

"Why? What's going on?"

"There's a news crew at the end of the street," he said, gesturing the direction with a tilt of his head.

Louise quickly handed Clara back to Emily as Janie pulled Bruce into the building and closed the door behind him. Without saying a word, they pushed them back into the back part of the clinic. Bruce finally pulled his hoodie off from his head.

"Did they see me take Clara into the building?"

"Most likely," Bruce replied. "I need to get you both out of here somehow before we can't get out of the clinic without running into them."

Janie rushed over to her purse and pulled out her cell phone, instantly checking the internet. Her eyes widened slightly as she turned the phone towards Bruce.

"They didn't just get a picture of Emily with Clara," she said.

A grainy close up photo of himself and Emily in the car, smiling and exchanging a kiss was printed below the caption - Bruce Wayne Alive?


	27. Chapter 27

A/N Thank you for the reviews and sorry for the delay...

Hope you enjoy...

* * *

Brent McKay mumbled to himself as he walked down the street, looking down at his notepad in hand and carrying his pricy camera bag on his shoulder. Once again, he had gotten a boring, interview assignment set for the new clinic that the Wayne Foundation had funded. He looked down at the notepad in his hand at the few questions that he had listed on it.

He sighed.

Brent had to remind himself of what the interview was about. He knew that he would be speaking to Dr. Tucker, and every reporter in the city knew exactly who she was. This would be the best opportunity to get further details on the new baby as well as Bruce Wayne.

As he rounded the corner across the road from the clinic, he began to unzip his bag and prepared to get his camera ready. Bringing the camera to his eye, he adjusted the lens and the light balance. He aimed it at a car and was surprised when he saw Emily Tucker inside. Brent quickly glanced over his camera before looking back through it and adjusted the lens to clear the image.

Dr. Tucker was smiling and she was speaking to the driver of the car whom Brent couldn't recognize. The driver wore a hoodie that blocked his view. Still, he snapped a few pictures for reference. He continued to watch the silent conversation just as he saw Emily lean in to kiss the driver. A little more intrigued, Brent clicked the shutter button numerous times.

He watched as Emily climbed out of the car and headed straight for the front door of the clinic. Brent quickly panned back to the driver and finally got a face shot as the car pulled away from the curb. He snapped the photos and had to look back at the photos on his camera to ensure he saw what he did.

"I'll be damned," he muttered astonishingly, before picking up his cell phone from his pocket and quickly turned back the way he came.

His pace was much faster this time as he waited almost impatiently for his editor to pick up the phone. The moment he heard the editors voice over the phone, he quickly got to the point.

"Sir, I think I have something better than a clinic interview."

* * *

If not for the seriousness of their situation, Emily would have laughed at Janie's suggestion as Bruce quickly agreed and pulled his hoodie over his head and handed it to her. Moments later, Emily and the hoodie wearing Janie walked out of the clinic just as the sound of people calling for Bruce Wayne. Emily hooked her arm around Janie's and together they rushed towards the car.

"Mr. Wayne! A word please!"

Emily automatically unlocked the car, before walking to the drivers side as reporters walked up to the person wearing the hoodie.

"Mr. Wayne!"

Janie turned and smiled. "I think you have me confused with someone else."

The reporters were obviously confused as the woman slipped into the passenger seat and slammed the door. They quickly turned to Emily as she opened her door.

"Dr. Tucker! We have photographic proof that Bruce Wayne is alive and you were seen sitting beside him in this car not too long ago. What do you have to say about that?"

"I have my daughter to take care of right now, so if you'll excuse me," she replied, as she slipped into the driver seat and shut the door.

They could hear the reporters continue to call out questions as Emily turned the engine on.

"You'd think that they'd wonder why Bruce Wayne shrunk down in height," she quipped as she pulled the hood from her head.

Without saying a word and with only two people on her mind, Emily pulled away from the curb and away from the reporters and camera crews that had swarmed the sidewalk. She quickly drove around towards the alleyway and backed down the tight passage to the back door of the clinic. Emily could see Bruce and Louise, waiting at the door. She slammed on the breaks and Janie quickly jumped out of the passenger seat. Janie pulled the hoodie off from over her head and tossed it to Bruce as he walked past her with Clara in his arms.

"Thank you, Janie," he said, looking back at the woman as she headed towards the open back door.

"No problem, Bruce," Janie told him, as he opened the back door and proceeded to snap Clara into her car seat. The baby began to squirm and complain at the confines of the seat and the haste at which Bruce was putting her in.

Emily rolled down the window and quickly called out her thanks to the women as Bruce got into the passenger seat. The moment the door closed, Emily pulled out from the alley. It wasn't until they got onto the street that a small group of reporters caught sight of the car and began pointing and flashing cameras at their direction.

Emily heard Bruce let out a sigh and she glanced over at him as she drove. He ran his hand over his face in frustration before looking out at the road ahead of them.

"What now?" Emily finally asked.

* * *

Alfred was about to tell Bruce what he had heard on the news, but thought it better when he noticed his facial expressions upon walking into Wayne Manor. It was obvious to him that some sort of heated argument had transpired moments prior. Emily carried a car seat into the house and Alfred carefully took it from her before placing it on the floor to remove Clara from the seat.

"Alfred, can you call the airport and arrange for the company jet to be prepared?" Bruce asked.

Although he was confused he replied. "Certainly sir."

"Alfred, don't," Emily quickly added, turning to Bruce. "Clara and I are not leaving Gotham."

"Emily, this is not up for discussion," Bruce stated.

"Like hell it isn't. This isn't just about you anymore. It involves your family."

Bruce visibly tensed knowing confrontation with the woman was inevitable. The sound of the phone ringing caught Alfred's attention and he walked out of the room, with Clara on his shoulder.

"I'm trying to protect my family," Bruce quickly retorted, watching as Alfred walked away. "You and I both know that the Joker is unpredictable. He'll know that I'm alive now."

"Which is why we're better off staying together," she stated, eyeing him intently. "Why wont you let me help you?"

"Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to you," he finally stated.

Emily took a step closer to Bruce.

"You told me that I've improved one hundred percent in what you have taught me over these months," she stated. "I even managed to get one up on Batman. Who does that?!"

Bruce sighed and shrugged. "I was distracted."

A smile appeared on Emily's face as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Sure you were."

She could see the playful smile disappear in his eyes as he continued to speak.

"If we're going to work together on this, I'll need you to follow my direction regardless of what is going on," he said. "It could come down to a matter of life or death and I need to know that you'll listen to me."

Emily looked down at Bruce's hand that he held out towards her. With a nod, she grasped it and shook his hand.

Alfred's soft clearing of his throat caught both of their attention and they turned to see the man standing by the hallway with Clara still on his shoulder.

"Sir, it would appear that with your apparent return from the dead, Gotham society is eager to see you, " Alfred said. "You two have been invited to the grand opening of the new casino downtown. Shall I RSVP?"

Bruce shook his head. "No, thank you Alfred."

The older man simply nodded and turned to walk away.

"Why not, Bruce?" Emily asked, a smile on her face. Her sudden, persuasive voice caused Alfred to pause.

"It could be fun," she added. "Just the other day we were complaining about not spending a lot of time together."

"When I think about spending time with you, it is not with the rest of Gotham society," he stated with a smirk.

"Come on, Bruce," Emily said, leaning in towards him. She reached up and put her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. "An evening out may be just what we need."

"Why do I have a suspicion that that wouldn't be all that you would need?"

She shrugged.

"I could think of some other things," she said softly, and suggestively.

Bruce leaned in and rested his head against hers.

"We could go to that grand opening, make some sort of excuse and then spend the rest of the evening at the penthouse," Bruce added, as he began to calculate their possible events of the evening. This idea of spending time alone with Emily was becoming more enticing. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his hands on her lower back.

Emily smirked, purposefully weaving her fingers between the hair on the back of his head; a sensation that she knew he enjoyed.

"We could be home by midnight or one in the morning."

"My thoughts exactly," Bruce stated, leaning in to kiss her.

"We only have one problem."

"What's that?" he whispered, his lips just about to touch hers.

As though on cue, Clara let out a loud coo that echoed down from where she was on Alfred's shoulder.

Both Bruce and Emily let out an audible sigh as Alfred walked out into the room. Bruce walked over to the older man and gently took Clara from him before holding her along his forearm.

"You do realize that if there was ever a time that you and Emily would like to go out for an evening, I would be more than willing to look after Clara," Alfred said, not bothering to mention that he had just overheard their private conversation. It was obvious when Clara had made her presence known.

"Alfred, when was that grand opening at the casino?"

Alfred smiled. "Tomorrow night, sir."

"Reply back to them with an RSVP for myself and Emily."

* * *

"Clara will be fine," Bruce reminded her from the drivers seat of the Lamborghini. He glanced over at her, noting that she was silent as she stared out the window. He knew that leaving her at home with Alfred for the evening was hard for the woman.

Emily simply nodded.

"I know. It's just that she still wont take a bottle. I just hope that she doesn't wake up for Alfred before we get back," Emily said.

"She wont," Bruce assured her. "I think I tuckered her out good enough when we were playing on the floor earlier."

Emily smiled at the memory of walking into the study to find Bruce laying on his stomach on the floor, talking with Clara as she looked up at him intently. Clara would suddenly smile up at Bruce followed by squirming her small body on the floor beside him. It melted her heart when he told her that he got her to react to him in the way that she was.

"I'm sure that you did."

She looked up as the car pulled up in front of the entrance to the casino. The covered entryway was lit up like a Christmas tree and a trio of fountains danced in a pool of water on the front property by the main road.

Bruce smiled at Emily before climbing out of the car and passing the valet his car keys. Her door opened beside her and stepped out, taking Bruce's hand as he pulled her up onto the sidewalk alongside him. Flashes of lights from cameras and shouts of questions roared at them. Neither one bothered to stop to answer them and after a short pause for photo's, Emily and Bruce walked into the casino and onto the busy gambling floor. Cheers from winning blackjack tables and ringing bells from slot machines filled the air. Bruce dismissed a tray of champagne offered by a waiter as they passed by. He held onto Emily's hand as he guided her through the crowded casino.

"Mister Wayne," a woman drawled out as they passed by. "It's good to see you back in the land of the living."

Bruce turned to the woman, hearing his name being called. He smiled, although it was far from genuine.

He leaned forward and gently kissed the woman on her cheek as he took her hand.

"Mrs. Francis, you know me," Bruce said, putting on the mask of a playboy that he did so well. "I can't stay away from these sort of things."

The woman nodded knowingly, before turning to Emily beside him.

"Oh, and my dear Dr. Tucker," she gushed, taking Emily's hand. "I've known Brucie since his high school years, and I have to tell you something. You certainly aren't the prettiest thing that he's been with. There was this blond a few years back with legs that could have their own zip code, let me tell you!"

The woman let out a laugh as she reminisced. Bruce could see Emily about to open her mouth and he knew that it wouldn't be flattering. He quickly cleared his throat and excused them from Mrs. Francis, making the excuse that he was needing a drink and insisted that Emily come with him.

Emily shook her head in disbelief as they stood at the bar. She partially listened as Bruce ordered a drink for them from the bartender.

"I can't believe that woman," she stated, incredulously.

Bruce turned and leaned up against the bar and shrugged. "Most of what she said was true."

Emily turned and glared at him. Feeling the temperature suddenly go cold around him, he turned to Emily.

"Only about the blond with legs with their own zip code," he admitted. "The rest of what she said was hot air."

Bruce reached over and took her hand, pulling he closer to him and ignoring the casual glances in their direction.

"You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever met," he said, softly and huskily.

A smile crept onto Emily's lips. "Maybe we should head out of here sooner than later."

Bruce smirked and nodded before taking her hand and headed towards the door.

* * *

Emily smiled, as she trailed kisses down Bruce's neck and up to his jaw. The man made a feeble attempt at reaching out towards the door to the penthouse elevator but somehow couldn't reach it without getting out of Emily's grasp. With a smirk, she reached out with her foot and closed it before kicking off her heels, instantly lowering her height by two inches.

"Show off," Bruce murmured huskily into her ear, as he reached up behind Emily's head and gently pulled out the hair clip, dropping her hair onto her shoulders.

He dropped the Lamborghini keys onto the table by the door before taking Emily by the hand, leading her through the darkened penthouse. Bruce watched her gaze turn towards the large windows overlooking the city. The lights shone into the city, illuminating their path. Bruce had them pause by the window before turning to Emily.

"Close your eyes," he told her.

She tipped her head and smirked.

"Humour me and close your eyes," Bruce repeated. "I have a surprise for you."

With a sigh, she complied.

She could hear him make some sounds in the room around her.

"Are you going to give me any clues?"

"Nope," Bruce replied.

A few more seconds and Emily felt someone take her hand once again.

"Open your eyes."

Bruce held out a glass flute towards her. He could sense her hesitation at the champagne. She had been paranoid about everything she ate and drank while she had been nursing Clara.

"It's sparkling peach wine, non alcoholic of course," he told her, as she took the flute from him. "I had Alfred put it in the fridge for me earlier today."

He watched as she took a sip.

"I can also make supper for us tonight," he suggested.

Emily smirked, taking the flute from Bruce's hands. She put it down on the table beside her and reached up to Bruce's face. She reached up and placed her lips on his. Bruce felt the unspoken invite and brushes his tongue along her lip, eliciting a moan from Emily. After a few more moments, she broke the kiss.

"I'm..uh... I'm suddenly not very hungry," she told him.

Bruce simply nodded before taking a step towards her, crushing his lips and his body against hers. He took her hands in his and wrapped his arms around her back and down to her backside.

He leaned down towards her ear and whispered.

"I am," he said breathlessly, as his lips touched the soft skin of her neck.

Emily felt goosebumps run down her arms. She wasn't entirely certain if it was his voice when he spoke in her ear or the touch his lips on her neck. Either way, she didn't care.

Her hands found her way to his waist and she quickly untucked the dress shirt from his pants. Bruce smiled into her kiss, hearing her frustrated grunt as she pulled at his shirt. He broke the kiss and took her hand. Without saying a word, he led her down a dark hallway.

Emily's heart was pounding as they rounded a corner. Bruce led her into the large bedroom and pulled her hand towards him, this time landing a more passionate kiss on her lips. She slipped her hands beneath Bruce's shirt and pushed it up, momentarily breaking the kiss to pull it over his head. Emily reached down and pulled her own shirt over he head, and was soon met with Bruce's hands reaching behind her back for her bra clasp. Emily jumped up and put her arms around Bruce's neck, meeting his lips once again and nearly caught him off guard when her legs wrapped around his waist.

Bruce tugged at the straps on Emily's shoulder as he leaned over onto the bed, allowing their weight to fall onto it.

Minutes had passed and clothes were soon abandoned on the floor. It was silent once again in the room.

Bruce looked over at Emily, catching a glimpse of her face looking at him as she laid on her stomach on the bed, a single sheet covering her body. She trailed a finger over his chin and down his neck to his bare chest.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"You. You're amazing. What you do everyday is beyond what anyone has ever done to help the city. And no one will ever know."

"You do."

She shrugged.

Bruce rolled over onto his side to face her.

"You are the most important person in the world to me. It's amazing to think that I ever lived without you," he said, brushing her hair out of her face with his hand. "I don't think I could imagine what it would be like if you weren't a part of my life."

Bruce looked down at her hand, and brushed his hand over hers, feeling his mothers ring beneath his palm. He picked up her hand.

"And when everything with the Joker is over, we'll see about changing your name," he said, with a smirk.

Emily chuckled lightly as she leaned in and kissed his lips. The kiss lingered as Emily pushed Bruce from his side and onto his back before crawling back on top of him. She broke the kiss and gently trailed her lips down his neck to his ear. Bruce closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation.

"Rested enough?" she asked in his ear, with a hint of tease in her voice.

Bruce smiled and opened his eyes. His smile faded when he noticed a familiar light brightening the room. Emily sensed Bruce tense and she turned her head to look towards the window, instantly seeing the bright bat shape in the sky.

She looked down at Bruce below her and was met with an apologetic smile. Emily leaned down and gave him a quick kiss before rolling off of him.

"Go," she told him with a smile, as she pulled the sheet up.

Bruce smirked as he stood up, grabbing the clothes from the floor.

"Can I expect you to be here when I return?"

Emily shrugged in bed.

"Maybe I'll make that supper that you promised you'd make for me," she said. "How long will you be gone?"

Bruce pulled his shirt back over his head and glanced out the window at the night sky.

"An hour or so," he predicted. "If it's going to be longer than that, I'll give you a call. I'll take the car to the bunker and leave to meet Gordon from there."

Emily watched as Bruce sat down on the edge of the bed to pull on his pants. Smirking, she sat up and knelt behind him, kissing the back of his neck.

Bruce smiled, realizing what she was doing.

"You're not making this easy for me to go," he told her.

He heard Emily giggle behind him and he stood up, turning to see her sitting behind him on the bed, completely naked. He sighed and shook his head.

"I had better just leave before I wont want to," he told her, as Emily smiled.

He began to walk towards the door.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I love you!" Emily called out. "Be careful."

"I love you too!"

* * *

Batman's mind raced as to what Gordon would have called him for. They hadn't met in weeks since there had been no development in any aspect of finding the Joker. The maniac had gone silent. There had been no homicides with a connection to the Joker nor were there any robberies involving him or his associates.

Batman swooped across the building and landed on top of the MCU. He waited in the shadow, looking for Gordon. Slowly he stepped forward and out of the light. It was then that he realized that he was alone. There wasn't anyone on the rooftop with him. He reached for the switch to turn off the giant floodlight when he heard it.

A deafening roar, that would most likely be heard across the city.

It didn't remind him of a crashing of cars, or the firing of a gun. He turned, when his eye caught a glimpse of the flash of light in the night sky.

A breath suddenly was sucked out of him.

The penthouse.

His penthouse of his building was on fire. Flames poured out of all of the windows.

Emily.

Without another hesitation, he raced to the side of the building and quickly jumped off, his body quickly falling to the ground beside the tumbler. A second later and he was inside, heading towards the penthouse. He raced down the Gotham streets and were met with a parade of sirens heading towards the building. Batman turned one block before the building as the firetrucks and emergency vehicles closed off roads.

He stopped the tumbler and quickly pressed the console for the phone to dial to Emily's cell, and prayed that she would answer.

"_The number you have just dialed is unavailable. Please leave a message and..."_

He hung up, feeling that pit in his stomach deepen. No one could survive that.

The flames that erupted from the penthouse were massive and there would be no way that he could reach that level.

Batman leaned forward against the wheel and pulled off the cowl, tossing it bitterly to the side. Tears lined Bruce's eyes as he turned on the tumbler and headed back to the bunker.

Pieces of equipment and armour were dropped to the floor, before he stoically climbed into the Lamborghini to head back home. He had to get back home. Clara was on his mind and he was certain that he would break down if he picked up the phone to call Alfred to tell him what had happened. He had a hard enough time trying to figure out the words he'd say.

As he pulled up in front of the house, he slowly stepped out of the car. Stoically, he walked towards the front door and climbed the stone steps. It wasn't until he was standing right in front of the door that he realized that it was already open. Taking a quick look at it, he realized that it was forced open.

Being more aware of his surroundings and that he may no longer be alone, he stepped into the dark house. It appeared as though the house had been ransacked. It was then that he noticed Alfred laying on the ground. Bruce ran over to him and began speaking his name. The older man's eyes fluttered upon hearing Bruce's voice. Alfred winced as he attempted to open his eyes.

"Don't move," Bruce told him. "What happened?"

Alfred pinched his eyes shut and only said one word - Clara.

Bruce glanced up the stairs and quickly raced up them, taking them two at a time. He ran towards Clara's room, praying to hear her cry. He pushed the partially open door and it hit the wall hard with the force that Bruce put on it.

He was hit with a cold blast of air coming from the broken windows. He stepped on shattered glass as Bruce carefully approached the crib, letting out a breath when he realized with his own eyes that it was empty. Bruce reached inside and his hand grabbed a fist full of Clara's purple crocheted blanket.

Bruce took an anxious step back from the crib and ran his hand through his hair, grief quickly taking over him as he futilely attempted to hold back a sob. He bent over, resting his hands on his knees as waves of nausea gripped him.

Everything was coming apart. First Emily and now Clara. It was almost too much for him. Even Rachel's death didn't affect him as much as this.

"Bruce?"

Eyes red with sadness, Bruce turned towards the voice speaking his name. Bill stood by the doorway, holding onto the frame. A trail of blood dripped from his forehead as he stood by the door.

"I'm so sorry," Bill said, tears coming to his own eyes. "I tried to stop them. There were too many of them."

The sadness within Bruce suddenly turned to anger. Anyone who would dare to take an innocent child from the safe confines of her room deserved his anger. Clara was all that he had left. In a moment of uncontrolled rage, he turned and punched the wall, leaving a cracked imprint in the drywall.

"Who was it?" Bruce growled.

Bill shook his head.

"I don't know," he replied, weakly. "They all had masks. I couldn't see any faces."

"Joker," Bruce spat.

He paused, hearing the sirens in the distance. He walked out of the room and down the stairs with Bill behind him. Alfred had sat up and held his hand to his head.

"I called 911," Alfred told him. "I confronted them but they must have hit me on the head because the last thing I remember is hearing Clara's cries."

Bill sat down on the bottom step of the stairs and watched as Bruce turned towards the open front door and simply stared out of it.

"He said he'd come after me and he did. But he crossed the line when he targeted Emily and Clara."

"Emily?" Bill asked.

Bruce let out a shaky sigh and lowered his head.

"Emily is gone," he simply said, his voice littered with deep sadness. Alfred recognized it and felt the pang in his chest upon hearing Bruce's words.

"Gone?" Alfred asked softly, his own voice weak.

"He took the most important things away from me," Bruce growled. His eyes watched as a series of flashing lights quickly came up the drive to the house.

* * *

Her face was red and was beginning to bruise.

It was not from crying but from the multiple slaps across the face for talking back. Apparently the masked man left to keep an eye on her wasn't impressed with her social skills.

Emily spat at the metallic flavour that filled her mouth. Her brown hair fell haphazardly around her face. The tight knot that wrapped around her wrists at her back burned her skin. Her bare arms shivered and she wished that she had changed into something warmer after Bruce had left. Emily had settled for a a tank top and jogging pants. She had no idea that when she heard the doorbell ring, that it wouldn't be Bruce returning early to surprise her. Emily had barely had a glimpse of the Joker in front of her before everything went black.

The sound of a ringing cell phone caught her attention and she raised her head as the masked man put the phone to his ear.

"Yeah?"

He eyed Emily carefully as he listened to the caller.

"Yeah, I can do that. I'm not sure if she'll be cooperative. I've had to give her a few lessons in politeness already."

The man laughed as he held the phone to his ear.

"Of course I'll make sure to keep her alive. I'll see you there in an hour."

He hung up the phone and stood up, walking over to Emily.

"Seems as though you're going on a ride," he told her, grabbing a canvas bag from the floor. "Cause any problems and I can't assure you it'll be a good ride."

He quickly placed the bag over Emily's head, hiding her face from the world.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N - This one is a little shorter than my usual, but you guys were begging. :) I hope you enjoy. For those wanting to see Emily kick some arse...it's coming. The best is yet to come.**

**Thank you to all those who reviewed, favourited, alerted and messaged me. I am beyond humbled by the comments. I'm almost afraid to disappoint now. :S I hope to get the next chapter out soon. I'm already hashing it out.**

* * *

Bruce waited, holding the styrofoam coffee cup between his hands. It had long gone cold and he had barely touched it as he sat waiting in the room alone. He had lost track of time, knowing only that he had been there all night and it had to be near morning.

After Gordon insisted that Bruce come with him to the police station for questioning, he wasn't expecting that he would be waiting as long as he had been. He soon found himself sitting alone inside an interrogation room, one way mirrors all around him. He could feel the eyes on him. After another ten minutes, Bruce began to pace around the room, like a caged animal. His daughter was out there and here he was trapped in this room.

Finally, the door opened and Gordon walked in.

"Sorry for taking so long to get to you, Mr. Wayne," Gordon said, causing Bruce to turn. "As you can imagine, we've been busy with what happened at your place and the explosion in the city. I do have some questions that I need to ask you."

Gordon gestured to the table, insisting that Bruce sat down. Sighing, he sat down.

Bruce watched as Gordon opened a file in front of him. He glanced up from the file at the styrofoam cup between Bruce's hands.

"Would you like me to get another cup for you?"

"Have you found my daughter?"

Gordon cleared his throat before looking up at Bruce.

"I have some of my top investigators working on it," he replied. "If there is anything you can tell us or where you were when your penthouse exploded, that would be helpful."

Bruce sat back in his chair and looked over at the mirrors. Gordon noticed.

"It's just you and me."

Bruce smiled curtly. He knew Gordon well enough to know when the man was lying, and this was one of those times.

"Joker made a threat against me and decided it would be beneficial to take it out on my loved ones," Bruce told him flatly.

Gordon nodded, aware of the threat.

"We have enough witnesses and evidence to confirm that your daughter's kidnapping is linked to the Joker. I understand that you were in downtown Gotham earlier tonight. Can you tell me where you were at the time of the explosion?

"I was out."

"Where?" Gordon pressed.

To meet with you.

Bruce sighed in frustration.

"Out!" he stated. "Emily and I went to the opening fo the casino and then we went to my penthouse apartment. I went out alone for some fresh air and I was planning on returning within the hour." He paused, looking at the dark coffee in his hands. "I saw the penthouse in flames. The police had blocked the streets and I couldn't get through. I forced myself to head home knowing that there would be no way anyone could survive what just happened. My mind was on Clara, so I returned home."

"Did you and Dr. Tucker have an argument prior to you leaving?"

Bruce had an idea of what Gordon was speculating.

"What? No!"

"Has your relationship been strained in any way?"

"No!"

"I'm sorry for asking, but these are just routine questions," Gordon reminded him, noticing the growing hostility within the billionaire. "What were you doing at the penthouse?"

"Spending time together," he replied, softly. "We haven't had the chance to spend time together since Clara was born."

"How old is she?"

"About two months old."

Gordon nodded, recording it within the file before looking back up at Bruce.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mister Wayne," Gordon said softly.

Bruce bit the inside of his lip, not wanting to ask because he wasn't wanting to know the answer, but he had to know.

"Did you find her? Emily, I mean."

He had never seen the billionaire so vulnerable. It was as though he was once again looking at a newly orphaned Bruce Wayne. Gordon cleared his throat before closing the file in front of him and nodded.

"I got a call from the fire marshall that they found a body of a woman within the penthouse," he told him. "From what I was told, I can assure you that her death would have been swift."

Bruce folded his hands in front of him and nodded. The news was hard to swallow but at the same time, it gave him comfort.

"Mister Wayne, I'll do everything in my power to ensure the safe return of your daughter and bring the person responsible to justice."

Bruce nodded silently as they both stood up and walked towards the door. Gordon opened the door, allowing Bruce to walk out first. The two men walked side by side, silently down the hallway back towards the front lobby.

They heard them first - the media. They had camped out front, knowing that Bruce Wayne was inside being questioned in regards to the death of his fiance. When Gordon saw them, he stopped and put his arm out, alerting Bruce.

But it was too late. Bruce's name was called out by dozens of reporters.

"This way," Gordon said, gesturing Bruce to follow him. He led him to his office and closed the door behind them. Gordon walked around his desk and picked up the phone receiver.

"Get some officers to the front doors!" he called out over the phone. "It's a zoo out front and I have to get someone out of this building without being harassed by those damn reporters."

Bruce reached into his pocket and fingered the small listening device in his hand. He slid his hand out of his pocket and rested it against Gordon's desk as the man spoke on the phone.

Gordon paused and nodded.

"Well get it done! I want them gone by the time I return."

With an aggravated sigh, he hung up and grabbed his own keys off the desk and walked to the door.

"Follow me," Gordon said to Bruce, leading the way out of his office and towards the back of the station.

Bruce followed and watched as Gordon pushed open a heavy door with huge block letters stating 'Authorized personnel only'. A half dozen police cruisers along with cars of various colours and makes, sat in the large covered parking garage. Gordon walked to the first car, a grey old Grand Marquis. Bruce walked around the car and got into the passenger seat.

Gordon pulled the ice scraper, fast food restaurants paper bag and handful of old store receipts from Bruce's feet and dropped them in the back.

"Excuse the mess," Gordon said, before he turned on the car. "I had the kids over for the weekend and they made a mess of the car."

A small smile pulled at Bruce's lips as they made their way out of the parking garage.

"Don't worry about it," he said, glancing towards the front of the police building as officers were attempting to dissuade the media away from the doors. "I appreciate the ride."

Gordon noticed the crowd and shook his head as they pulled out into traffic, heading towards Wayne Manor.

"I don't know how you handle things like that," Gordon said, gesturing to the reporters outside of the police building.

"I've learned to deal with it."

Gordon nodded. "I guess you'd have to."

Most of the ride was made in silence. Gordon would glance over at Bruce as they rode together. He noted how the man's mind seemed to be miles away. He found himself almost staring at Bruce for a short time as they drove. The way his eyes had their intense focus and seriousness of his face; it was nothing like the photo's he had seen of the playboy beside him. He almost seemed normal. He was someone who had endured yet another hardship in their life. Gordon was certain that most of Gotham would never be able to understand the pain that Bruce Wayne had lived through. Tragedy seemed to follow him.

With the impending sun just over the horizon, the Grand Marquis pulled into the Wayne Manor property and followed the drive to the front door. There was no longer any indication of the police presence from earlier that night. The front door was closed and any broken windows had been firmly covered with a panel of plywood.

When the car finally stopped in the driveway, Bruce undid his seat belt and opened the door. He paused before climbing out.

"Thank you Commissioner," he said, holding out his hand towards the man. Gordon simply shook his.

"You're welcome, Mr. Wayne."

A small smile, one of the few that evening, graced Bruce's features.

"You're a good cop," he said, pausing once again. "Call me Bruce."

Without saying any more, Bruce stepped out of the car and walked towards the front door.

Gordon watched, before putting the car into drive.

You're a good cop.

The words Bruce said seemed like they came from a dream he once had. He was certain that he had heard them - even the same tone of voice. Shaking his head, he shook it off.

He sighed and drove back up the drive and back into the city.

* * *

Emily walked as fast as she was pulled along. Not being able to see where she was going caused her to stumble a few times. A heavy bag rested over her head. Having her wrists tied behind her didn't help either. Finally, she was pushed down into a chair. Emily could voices speaking around her.

"He wants her alive for some reason," someone said.

"He only said alive, not untouched."

Emily could hear her heart pumping in her ears as her breathing also increased ten fold. As silently and discreetly as possible, she fumbled with the restraints around her wrist.

"Let's flip for it."

She heard a man chuckle deeply.

"Sounds good to me."

From under the heavy bag on her head, she heard a clink of a coin dropping to the ground.

"Damn it!" a man exclaimed, while another gave a throaty laugh.

"Stand aside. I'll show you how it's really done."

Without warning, Emily felt herself being pulled up off the chair and pushed to the ground. Her arms hit the ground behind her and she gasped, knowing that her skin bruised with the contact. Not being able to see what was going on was unnerving.

She suddenly felt a firm arm under her chin, pinning her down while another hand attempted to pull at her jogging pants. Feeling a sudden dose of adrenaline kick into her body, Emily quickly raised her knee and felt it connect with the man's chest. He gave out a yell and sat up, cursing. Emily swung her legs up and felt them wrap around the man's neck. In a swift motion, she pulled the man to the floor and managed to use his weight to sit herself up on him. While she did, the bag on her head suddenly came off and she could once again see. The light in the room took a moment for her eyes to adjust.

It was too long. The other man came up beside her and grabbed onto her, pulling her to the floor with him and off the other man. Emily struggled as her hair was pulled, forcing her to stand.

"Dumb bitch!" the first man spat at her, as he raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

Emily cried out before she felt her cheeks being held between the thumb and forefinger of one of the men. Her eyes were shut as she braced herself for another hit to her face. Instead, it didn't come. She opened her eyes just as the man placed his lips on her own. Emily struggled with her wrists, determined to loosen them to push him away from her. The smell emanating from his breath nauseated her. She did one thing that she knew that she could do.

She bit him.

The man cried out and instinctively slapped her across the face, hard. Emily gasped, the sting continuing long after. She was pushed back down into the chair forcefully. She could hear a man chuckle in the room.

"I knew that I'd like you," a man said. "You have some spunk in you. I like that."

Emily recognized the voice. She looked up and saw him.

"What do you want?" she managed to say.

"Oh, nothing," Joker replied. "At least not yet."

"If you're going to kill me, just kill me," Emily begged, as tears came to her eyes. She couldn't take another beating like that again.

Joker laughed.

"I'm not going to kill you," he told her. "You're one of my little worms on a hook. If I dangle you around enough long enough, I'll get my prized fish. And there is nothing more a fish loves than a worm."

"Bruce? If it's money you want..."

Joker smirked, his smile pulling at the scares on his face.

"Oh, I don't care about money. I want someone worth more than money. He's someone that you and I know very well."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Stop being so coy with me, Doctor Tucker," Joker stated articulating every word. He walked towards her. He took the knife from his pocket and suddenly pulled at her head, arching it back before placing the cool blade against her neck. He leaned in and spoke softly into her ear.

"Your baby's father," he whispered.

"Bruce is her father."

Joker licked his lips. This was proving more difficult than he anticipated.

"Everyone knows that," he whispered into her ear. "I'm talking about someone else. Batman."

Emily swallowed.

"I saw you and the Batman on the day your little...uh, bundle of joy was born and then miraculously you're seen with Wayne, who just happens to be alive," he said. "Now, what are the chances that they are one and the same, hmm?"

"You're crazy."

"Am I!?" Joker suddenly exclaimed, the sudden volume of his voice startling Emily.

"There is no possible way that Bruce Wayne could be Batman," Emily told him, breathlessly. "You're going after the wrong guy."

Joker let out a sigh, as he removed the blade from Emily's neck.

"We'll find out soon enough when your baby's father arrives. The thing cries so much, it's giving me a headache," Joker said, sliding his knife into his pocket. He pulled out a roll of duct tape from his pocket.

Emily felt a pit grow in her stomach as bile rose in her throat.

"Clara?"

Joker smirked and looked towards her.

"Is that her name? Beautiful, like her Mother."'

Emily's heart began pounding as she began to struggle on the chair to release her arms from behind her.

"I'm going to kill you," she spat angrily.

"You know, I'd love to watch you try," he quickly retorted with a chuckle, before pulling the end of the duct tape loose. He ripped a long piece and covered Emily's mouth, going from ear to ear with it.

"I suppose we will soon see," he told her, touching her duct taped cheek. He picked up the heavy bag from the floor and once again covered her head with it.

Emily didn't hear him speak again and instead heard the heavy pound of the door shutting. From behind the door, he could hear voices.

"Keep an eye on her," Joker told someone. "He'll come for her. If she starts crying, cover her mouth with the tape."

That homicidal psychopath had Clara.

Emily grunted and groaned as she pulled her wrists at the tight ropes twisted around them. She pulled until she was almost certain the ropes were digging into her skin. Her mind was on Clara.

* * *

As the sun rose over the horizon, a heavy mourning hung over Wayne Manor when Bruce returned from the MCU. Bill had been assisting Alfred in cleaning up the mess that had been left by Joker's men when Bruce walked in. Bruce didn't even acknowledge Alfred as he walked into the house. Alfred noticed the man and quietly excused himself from Bill to follow after Bruce.

"Can I get you something to eat, sir?"

"No, thank you, Alfred," Bruce replied, softly.

"I'd suggest that you rest," Alfred said delicately. "You have been up for over 30 hours now."

"I need to find Clara," Bruce said louder, as he walked into his study.

"Of course," Alfred said, pausing at the room's entrance. "But she would need a Father that is in his best condition to find her and frankly sir, you look like hell."

Bruce ran his hand over his face as he approached the piano.

"I can't afford to sleep," Bruce said, hearing his own voice tremble at the lack of sleep, the overwhelming sadness and stress. "I can't lose her too."

Alfred stood silently at the door, watching the man deal with having to endure the pain of another loss. He wondered how much a heart could take in its lifetime.

"I miss her, Alfred," Bruce admitted, feeling tears coming to his eyes. He closed his eyes. "I promised myself that I would keep her safe; keep them both safe. I broke that promise."

When he opened his eyes, they were watery and threatened to overflow. He turned to Alfred.

"Something to eat might be a good idea," he said, rubbing his hand against his nose. "And maybe some coffee."

Alfred nodded and a hint of a smile appeared on the man's features. "Very well, sir."

"I'll be down in the cave," Bruce said, before turning to press the odd combination of chords.

He didn't turn back to Alfred again and simply walked behind the hidden pathway behind the shelving unit as it was revealed.

* * *

It was a long day. After heading home to get a few hours of sleep, Gordon returned at dusk to finish the work he hadn't completed during the day. Gordon sat at his desk, filling out and reading reports on the explosion at the Wayne penthouse. He shook his head, reading the details of the explosion and where the body was found. Photo's filled the inside of the file, some overly detailed.

He was relieved when he heard a knock at the door, allowing him to pause from his task.

"Come in," he called out.

A young officer walked in.

"Officer Blake, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if we were going to run a child's disappearance alert to the media," he said.

"Soon," Gordon replied, glancing up at the clock. He knew how much time had passed since the kidnapping and the regulations regarding their amber alert system. "I'm wanting to keep the Wayne baby's disappearance out of the media for as long as possible. The man has already lost his girlfriend."

"Did he say anything when you questioned him?"

Gordon shook his head. "He's not a suspect in this case."

The phone on Gordon's desk suddenly rang and he reached forward to pick it up.

"Yeah?"

_"Hello Commissioner."_

Gordon stood up, instantly recognizing the voice. He stared at Blake and gestured to the phone and mouthed that he wanted it traced. Blake understood and quickly left the room.

"How did you get this number?"

_"Oh, getting the police Commissioner's phone number is a piece of cake in this town_," Joker drawled over the phone. "_It's all in who you know."_

"You have Bruce Wayne's daughter."

_"Very observant, Gordon,"_ Joker said, mockingly.

"Where is she?"

_"Look, I know you're having your little officer drones trace the number I'm calling you on, and I know that it takes time, so I'm going to give you a strong hint. I want Batman to deliver 1 million dollars of Bruce Wayne's money to the amusement park by the pier. Make sure that he comes alone. He has until midnight or Mr. Wayne will truly be alone."_

Before Gordon had a chance to speak again, the line went dead. He hung up the phone just as Blake returned.

"He's at the...

"...amusement park?"

Blake nodded, confused. "He told you?"

Gordon nodded.

"That doesn't sound like something the Joker would do," Blake stated.

"It's not," Gordon confirmed. "He's up to something."

Gordon walked around his desk towards Blake. "Gather the officers that you can trust to keep their mouths shut. Have them meet me in this office in a half hour."

Blake nodded and left the room. Gordon walked out after him and turned in the other direction. He headed for the roof.

* * *

Gordon stood on the rooftop in the shadow of the signal. He looked up at the night sky where the beacon shone on the lower level clouds. The weather looked dismal and the air was brisk.

He turned when he heard the sound of the rustling of fabric in the wind. On cue, Batman turned off the signal and walked over to Gordon.

He already knew what Gordon was going to say. Bruce had heard Gordon's side of the conversation with the Joker and then with one of his officers before the recording went completely silent. He was already partially dressed when the sensors within the cave registered that the signal had been turned on.

"The Joker is at the amusement park by the pier and he has Bruce Wayne's baby," Gordon told him. "He wants 1 million dollars of Mr. Wayne's money to be delivered by you otherwise...well, otherwise, things will go bad."

"That doesn't seem like the Joker."

"You're right, it doesn't."

"It's not the money that he wants. He's never been one for money or to be so carefree with revealing his location, unless it is to benefit him."

Gordon nodded.

"He wants you."


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N - You guys are awesome! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"It's not the money that he wants. He's never been one for money or to be so carefree with revealing his location, unless it is to benefit him."

Gordon nodded.

"He wants you."

"Have you spoken with Bruce Wayne about this?"

Gordon shook his head.

"The man is on the verge of doing something impulsive," Gordon said. "He's desperate and who knows what he may do if I told him what I know. I'd like the child to at least have a father to return home to. Besides, Joker doesn't want the money."

Batman said nothing and instead, turned before walking to the edge of the building where he had come from.

"What are you...?"

"I'm going to the pier," Batman replied, cutting off the Commissioner. "Have your men set up a perimeter but wait for my signal before moving in."

Without saying another word, Batman jumped off the ledge and glided through the air back to where the tumbler was located.

* * *

The amusement park was closed for the season and along with it, the pier and all the other attractions including an outdoor concert hall. In the summer months, the pier would be bustling with street buskers, craft vendors and ice cream carts. In the winter, it became a desolate waste land. The wind and waves would eventually coat part of the pier in a light frost.

Batman jumped over the fencing that surrounded the amusement park and hid in the shadows of a pavilion. He watched and listened, hearing nothing out of the ordinary or unusual. It wasn't until he heard the loud sound of a door squeaking open that he saw a man walk out of a door leading into the administration building.

The man pulled out his lighter and lit a cigarette in his mouth. Before he had the chance to even take a puff, he felt something jab him in the neck. A second later, he was on the ground.

Batman slipped inside the door and looked down the hall. The sudden sound of a baby's cry caused him to turn his head and he headed in the direction of the sound. He also heard a conversation going on up ahead.

"Will you shut her up already?"

"Me? Boss said for you to do it."

"The Joker didn't say who, he just said to keep the kid quiet."

"Look man, I don't cross the line when it comes to hurtin' kids."

"Have a soft spot for brats, do ya?"

Batman paused as he came to a corner, knowing those two men would be right on the other side. Seeing a light switch behind him, he suddenly flicked it off.

"As a matter of fact..."

The conversation suddenly stopped as the hallway became dark.

"What the hell?"

"Check it out, man!"

"You first."

"Scared of the dark too, huh?"

Batman reached around the corner and grabbed the first man as he neared the edge, pulling him towards him. The other man pulled out his gun and fired towards the corner as he backed up down the hallway.

Batman held the man in front of him, facing away from his body and tightened his grip around the man's neck.

"Where is the baby?" he growled into his ear.

The man gasped and simply pointed around the corner.

Batman clenched his teeth and tightened his arm as the man suddenly passed out. He dropped him to the ground.

The other man continued to fire his gun towards the corner. Batman waited, knowing he would run out of ammunition sooner or later. When it finally ceased, Clara's crying was hysterical. Anger rose up inside Batman and he went around the corner. In the darkness, the man didn't even see him coming. Batman grabbed him by the arm, and knee'd him in the head before bringing him to the floor.

Out of breath, he listened and turned to the door the men were standing in front of. With one swift kick of his foot the door opened. The loud boom made the crying increase once again but with the light shining into the room, it turned into light hiccups. Batman saw her. Clara was laying on the floor on top of a tattered blanket. Quickly looking around the room to confirm there was no one else there, he rushed towards her and picked her up.

Clara began to cry again with her suddenly being picked up. Her eyes were tightly pinched shut.

Batman brought her face close to his own and gently hushed in her ear.

"It's all right now," he said softly, kissing her cheek. "Daddy's here."

There was obvious recognition to his voice as Clara calmed slightly and opened her red, tear-filled eyes to look at him. As he placed her in his arms close to him, he glanced down at her body, noting that she was in the same clothing that he had last seen her in and her diaper was obviously swollen. Batman reached for the blanket on the ground and although it wasn't in the best shape, it would work to keep her warm enough. He carefully wrapped it around her, trying his best to keep her head covered.

He turned, and left the room with Clara in his arms.

"There!" someone called out.

Without hesitating, Batman raced further down the hall just as a stream of bullets chased after him. He glanced down at Clara, holding her tightly to his chest. He continued down the hall and pushed open a door marked emergency exit. The sirens began to blare as he emerged back outside. The hollering of men could be heard as he ducked into the shadows.

He ran around the side of the building and stopped when he nearly ran into a man, holding a gun.

"Jeeze, I nearly shot you! I heard gunshots and the alarms going off," Gordon said softly, putting his gun in his holster as he approached Batman. In the darkness, he heard a soft sound coming from Batman's arms. It didn't take a genius to guess what he held. "Clara Wayne."

Without a word, Batman passed Clara to Gordon. It had been a while since Gordon held a baby and it was evident in how he handled her.

"Get her out of here," Batman said, looking to Gordon and then down to Clara. "I'm going back for the Joker. I'm going to end this."

Batman didn't stick around long enough for Gordon to say anything in return. He opened his mouth but found the dark knight had once again slipped into the shadows. Gordon looked down at the baby as she curiously regarded the stranger holding her. He smiled down at her for a moment before pulling her close to his chest as a cold breeze blew past them.

He looked up and glanced around them cautiously before sneaking back the way he had come.

* * *

The Joker sat on a park bench, glaring down the walkway. He drummed his fingers together as he waited.

"Where are you? I've been waiting for you," he called out into the darkness. "And no surprise, you didn't disappoint. Except for the fact that you didn't bring the money. But I'm happy with you."

When there was no response, he sighed and rolled his eyes as he stood up.

"Fine," Joker said, his voice showing more anger than prior. "I'll bring out my hook and maybe then you wont be so shy."

He gestured towards the maintenance shed across the walkway and the door opened. A clown-masked man walked out with a gun in one hand and a chain in the other. He turned slightly as he pulled on the chain, tugging it enough that whatever was on the other end would follow. The sound of chains clinking on the ground echoed down the empty walkway. Joker shoved the other man away and took the chain.

Emily was pulled out of the room, the bag still covering her head, the tape over her mouth, her wrists tied behind her and now the chains between her ankles. She could barely move her legs far enough to take decent steps and the rate at which she was being pulled, she was certain that she'd fall over. Knowing the cargo she carried and the consequence at falling over, she moved as quickly as she could until she felt an arm around her shoulders and that sinister voice once again.

"Maybe this will make you come out," Joker said, taking a jacket off of Emily, revealing the bomb wrapped around her chest. The cool breeze met Emily's bare arms and she shivered. "It isn't on a timer. I'll push it when I get tired of waiting for you and believe me, you wont want me to push it."

"Let her go," Batman growled from the shadows before walking out, standing thirty feet ahead of him.

Joker smirked. "You like demanding things, don't you? Is that how it was with you and Wayne's woman, huh?"

Batman clenched his fist and his jaw.

"The way she put up a fight when I came back to visit that little castle in the sky," he commented with a whistle. "She has been getting some pretty good fighting lessons and I doubt that the Bruce Wayne that everyone knows would be able to throw a punch like her. She's a fighter. It is a pity considering what happened."

"You're going to jail," Batman growled, as Joker chuckled.

"We'll see about that."

"Let her go," Batman repeated once again.

"On one condition, you drop your belt of toys and take off your mask."

Batman didn't move.

"Need a little push, do we?"

Joker reached behind Emily's neck and pulled the bag forward, dropping it to the ground. She looked up at Batman through her matted hair.

"Emily?" Batman said breathlessly. His voice was full of disbelief.

He looked at her, and noticed the bruises on her face, her bare feet, the scrapes on her arms and the duct tape covering her mouth. An anger rose within him once again as the Joker let out a laugh.

"I know it looked like she was dead, but seeing your face right now was worth the hassle that I've had to put up while dealing with this woman. I don't know how you can stand her!"

Batman reached behind him and undid the clasp of his belt, tossing it to the ground. When he reached for his mask, he heard Emily cry out from behind the duct tape. Batman looked up, seeing her red, tear-filled eyes as she shook her head, desperate to tell him to stop.

Joker put a mocking arm around her shoulders and ran his finger down her cheek, shushing her. He looked back up to see Batman drop his mask to the ground.

"You've got what you asked for!" Bruce called out. "Now, let her go!"

Joker smiled and looked to Emily.

"If I'm anything, I am a man of my word," Joker said, pulling a key from his pocket. He tossed it to Bruce who caught it.

Joker pushed Emily towards Bruce. She nearly lost her balance but managed to keep her footing. She walked carefully towards him, still aware of the bomb wrapped around her chest and shoulders. As soon as she neared him, Bruce glanced at Joker as the man simply watched with maniacal curiosity. Bruce crouched down and unlocked the chains around Emily's ankles. He went behind her and untied her wrists. Emily pulled at the duct tape over her mouth.

She looked up at Bruce, silent conversation passing between their eyes. Bruce turned to Joker.

"The bomb too!"

"Uh, no. You see, that is my insurance that you'll do what I ask you to," Joker said proudly. "If you so much as breath wrong, I'll set it off."

Bruce sighed, looking to Emily.

"Gordon is out front," he whispered to her. "Find him and he'll be able to help you."

"Clara's here..."

"Gordon has Clara," he told her. "I need you to go and get her. Don't come back here."

Emily looked back at Joker who drummed stood with his arms crossed.

"He'll kill you," she said, her voice weak.

Bruce forced a smile, gently touching her cheek. "I'll be all right."

Emily knew him well enough to know when he was lying to her. Carefully, she reached up and kissed his lips. Bruce closed his eyes, so glad that she was alive, but mournful that he knew he may never see her again.

"I love you," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

Bruce reached forward and squeezed her hand, afraid that if he'd say anything more that she would change her mind and stay.

Without saying another word, Emily walked past him and didn't will herself to look back. She forced herself not to cry as she wouldn't want Bruce to hear. Instead, tears began to fall down her cheeks, knowing that he was giving his life for hers.

* * *

Gordon sat inside his cruiser with the lights out, listening to the scanner. It had been a while since he had seen Batman. He waited for the signal he told him to watch for. A number of his officers stood around the gate, waiting and some anxiously questioning whether or not they should go in anyways. Gordon told them over and over, that he'd let them know when.

"Hey! We have something!"

Gordon sat up and glanced out his windshield. In the darkness, he couldn't make out who it was. It certainly wasn't Batman. He reached for his gun and stepped out, aiming it at whoever was coming towards them.

He nodded towards another officer who reached inside a cruiser and flipped on the headlights.

Emily paused, somewhat startled at the instant light shining on her.

"Hold it right there!" Gordon called out.

"Don't shoot!" Emily cried out, holding up her hands and using them to block the bright headlights of the cruiser from her eyes.

He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her. He slowly lowered his gun and gestured to the other officers to do the same before he walked towards Emily.

In the darkness, Emily could only make out the shadow of a man walking towards her.

"Dr. Tucker?"

Commissioner Gordon was astonished to see the woman standing, alive in front of him, but stopped short when he saw the bomb strapped around her chest.

"Joker has the detonator," she said, as he looked at the wires coming around her.

Gordon reached for his radio.

"Get a bomb squad in here, right now!" he exclaimed over the radio.

He looked at Emily's face, noticing the bruising and scrapes on her skin. Her eyes were red.

"Where's Clara?"

"I sent her by ambulance to the hospital," Gordon said, watching Emily's eyes widen. "She's fine. I just wanted to make sure. Batman saved her."

A small smile, although it seemed sad, appeared on her face.

"I know," she said softly.

"Did you see him?"

Emily nodded.

"He needs help."

Gordon ran his hand through his hair, and looked in the direction of the amusement park.

"One thing at a time," he said. "I'm going to get you out of this."

* * *

Joker was enjoying himself a little too much.

He watched as Bruce agonized after each time he zapped him in the neck with the electroshock baton.

Bruce was tied in a chair and with every shock he received, it took him longer to recover from the effects of it.

"So, answer me this one," Joker said, leaning towards Bruce. "Are you wanting to kill me yet?"

"Let me go and you'll find out," Bruce growled.

Joker smiled. "Now that is your inner crazy-man just begging to come out. You see, I knew you had him in you. It just took a little prodding on my part to bring him to the surface."

"You're the only one who is crazy around here," Bruce said, obviously physically tired with the endless torturing.

Joker's smile faded as he charged the electroshock baton once again and with a clench of his teeth he hit Bruce in the neck with it, causing him to cry out.

"What a world we live in, huh? You live believing everyone you care for has been taken away from you, only to find out that they're alive, and then in a surprise twist of events, you're taken away from them." Joker let out a laugh. "I could do this all night but I want you stay awake for the fireworks that will be starting soon."

Upon hearing him speak, Bruce raised his head, hearing the double meaning in the psychopaths words. Joker pulled the detonator from his pocket and held it in front of Bruce before smirking as he pressed the button.

The roar of the explosion in the distance filled the park as the light lit up the sky.

Joker winced. "Hopefully that didn't make too much of a mess."

Bruce breathed deeply in anger before struggling within the tight ropes that wrapped around him.

"I'm going to kill you," Bruce growled at him, his face red.

"Tempting, but you first."

Joker grabbed the same bag that had been over Emily's head and shoved it over Bruce's before picking up the electroshock baton. With a smirk, he charged it and hit Bruce with it again, this time so strong that he passed out.

* * *

Emily stood still, raising her arms as the bomb squad worked around her. She was growing impatient. She'd occasionally glance back towards the park, wondering what Bruce was doing and whether or not he was all right. It took everything within her to not simply run back there.

"I think we got it," one of the men kneeling in front of her said. He slowly pulled a wire from the detonation box and they helped to slide the rest of the bomb down from around Emily's chest. She carefully stepped out of it as the squad picked it up and headed towards their van with it.

Gordon put his hand on her shoulder.

"Let's get you to the hospital and I'm certain that Mr. Wayne would be eager to see you as well," he said, with a smile.

She turned towards the park, wanting to say something but wasn't certain how to say it. Gordon followed her eyes and then glanced back at her before putting his arm over her shoulder.

"He'll be fine. He's Batman," he assured her, just as a force pushed them to the ground and covered the area in debris.

The bomb had exploded, sending pieces of the metal van flying into the air and sending the neighbouring police cruisers into flames. Gordon rolled over and scrambled for his radio.

"I need all available units to the east side pier!" he yelled into it. "Ambulance, fire and rescue, everything!"

He looked beside him, glancing around where Emily had been and couldn't see her. He turned over to push himself up to stand and that's when he saw her. The woman was running back towards the park.

"Damn it," Gordon mumbled, glancing back at the fire before chasing after Emily.

* * *

**A/N - Winterrain36 - We must be on the same wavelength, because your review was very close to what I was planning. Am I that predictable? :) I hope to stump you with the next little bit... :)**

**Everyone - Please review! It's awesome to know that there are readers who are enjoying reading it as much as I'm having fun writing it.**


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